So, I've been thinking about the stories we've read lately, and about how at the beginning of the semester we discussed the Fantasy genre as a tool for escapism.
It seems to me that a lot of the stories we've been reading lately revolve around two themes:
A.) Main character travels on exciting fantastic journey away from small town (i.e. A Siege of Cranes, Monstrous Regiment, etc.)
B.) Main character lives in extremely weird and fantastic small town/isolated place (i.e. Botch Town, In the House of Seven Librarians, etc.)
Now, both of these themes sort of take advantage of the reader's desire to leave his/her own small town reality, but they play out in different ways. The reader is either transported away from a fictional small town on some sort of fantastical journey (therefore living out his or her escape fantasy vicariously through the protagonist), or he/she is transported to another isolated (but far more interesting) town/place.
Personally, I find scenario B much more intriguing because the author creates this incredible isolated area, which he/she sells to the audience like Hawaii in a travel brochure. Although there weren't a lot of positive comments in class on "In the House of Seven Librarians," I thought the sense of place came across really well. Most of the characters were well painted, and the library itself came through loud and clear--I could almost smell the musty cardigans and old paper. True, the plot wasn't incredibly complex, but I felt that the escapist quality could be found in visiting the overgrown library itself. Plus, if the idea of spending all your life in a small town scares you, reading a story in which a girl grows up in a library surrounded by old ladies makes your life look pretty eventful. Granted your walls don't bestow teddy bears upon you, but at least you've seen the sky.
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3 comments:
I rather liked "In the House of Seven Librarians". It had a lovely, bedtime story feel to it. Plus, it said something very true- that experience has real value and not everything can be gleaned from a book.
I'm not from a small town, but I still enjoy the sense of escapism that comes from a really good book. This has always been true for me, even when I was in high school (where my graduating class was so large that the only place we could have our ceremony at was Reunion Arena). So I don't necessarily think that wanting to escape from a small town has ever had anything to do with my reading preferences. I think it has always been about how much the story stimulated my imagination.
I enjoyed "In the House of Seven Librarians" as well (in fact, it was my favorite from the batch we read this past week). However, it didn't get many positive comments in class because several people felt it was boring/had no conflict. I was of the opinion that although it did not have much in the way of conflict or tragedy, the story still had that fabulous fantasy escapist quality.
Also, I wasn't necessarily saying that one has to be from a small town to enjoy the escapism of a genuinely good read (I wouldn't consider myself from a particularly small town either). I was merely commenting that many stories either play on the "I gotta get out of this town" mentality, or they focus in on isolation (but make it far more entertaining). Honestly, I don't think it matters where you grew up, eventually you're going to need a break from home life.
For some reason this exchange reminds me of "Small Town Saturday Night," a 1991 hit for country singer Hal Ketchum:
Bobby told Lucy, The world ain't round / Drops off sharp at the edge of town / Lucy you know the world must be flat / 'Cause when people leave town, they never come back.
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