What makes a good novel? - Bill Kirton
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A couple of
years back, I was asked in an interview what made a good novel. Let’s dodge the
first, obvious problem the question poses, i.e. what do you mean by ‘good’? For
most mainstream – and indeed independent – publishers, the answer would
probably be ‘one that sells’, while others might demand the application of
literary criteria. In the context of the interview, it seemed legitimate to assume
that it simply meant ‘enjoyable to read’ and my first, predictably glib,
response was to quote the well-known Somerset Maugham quip, which is
(approximately) ‘There are three rules for writing a novel. Unfortunately, no
one knows what they are’. In fact, it’s a hard question and answers will
obviously vary depending on the sort of novel you prefer to read. But the scope
(and looseness) of the form almost encourages diverse responses. Mine are
pretty basic.
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So the primary quality of a good novel is its ability to make you care about its characters, worry for them, dislike them for what they do to others, laugh at or pity them. Above all, you need to believe in their reality. It’s your empathy, your sympathy or just your acceptance of their validity that guarantees the authenticity of their world. If you’re involved in it, it must, by definition, be real.
Another obvious
quality must be the page-turning one. You have to want to know what happens
next. Sometimes, the intensity of the emotions involved (yours as well as the
characters’) transcends the actual story but usually there’s a journey to make,
problems to be solved, setbacks to be overcome. I’d argue that these, too,
depend on the characters and their interactions, but as a plot develops, it
renews those characters, gives them opportunities to redefine themselves, makes
them harder or easier to like. They can’t grow in a void, they need to be
tested, questioned.
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And they’re
fundamental to the form. Even with novels which are too easily dismissed by the
(seeming) cognoscenti as ‘mere genre’ novels, these
forces are at work. If readers are lifted from their prescribed present into a
realm where unicorns graze and everything is possible, their experience of life
is enhanced. Whether this happens from reading Thomas Hardy or a hospital
romance is irrelevant. The point is that it happens.
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Comments
Only thing is, you haven't mentioned how hard it is to actually write one - a good novel, I mean!
Lovely, thoughtful post.
You're right Lee, there are plenty of novels about but not so many merit that adjective.
Kathleen, yes I'm happy if I can approach 'good'. I leave 'great' to real writers.
Jan, for me Beckett is what I believe nowadays is called 'Da Man'. So many brilliant one-liners, starting with 'In the beginning was the pun'. Priceless.
Lydia, earlier this year I wrote a short story called 'An evening with Emma Bovary' and realised I'd been in love with her since I was 18.