Donald Maas taught one of the workshops at the Writer's Conference in NYC. I bought his book and went to other workshops. I'm reading it now and click on the title to this Post, it will take you to the info. about the book on Amazon. It is excellent and I will be sharing some things I learned from it later on. But before I do, let's talk about "break out novels"--those novels that generate tons of sales and buzz and everybody reads them. One current example is Jodi Picoult's latest bestseller called "Nineteen Minutes" about a school shooting. If you haven't read it yet, I highly recommend it.
What is your favorite "break out" novel? What, in your opinion, makes a novel "break out" from the rest of the pack?
Wednesday, June 13, 2007
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6 comments:
Jayne,
I think of the breakout novel differently. I think of it as the novel within a writer's "ouevre" that breaks through and finds an audience. So if someone is unpublished because his stuff is crummy, then it's the novel that gets published. If someone is a "midlist" writer, then it's the novel that breaks through to a wider audience and becomes a bestseller.
Here is Donald Maas' definition: "When novelists whose previous work merely has been admired suddenly have books that vault onto the bestseller lists or even achieve a large jump in slaes, publishing people say the have 'broken out.' The book in question is a 'breakout novel.'"
Well, I am a novelist trying to breakout (and I'm not talking skin and pimples here).
To me, the breakout novel is the novel that comes from a true, honest voice. That's where great writing comes from --not only the finding of one's inner truth, but it's clear and clear expression. It's a tough job, that I compare to the sculptor's. She has to find that form within the stone.
An example of a breakout novel: the novel I am reading right now, which is quite extraordinary. It's called THE KITE RUNNER and is written by an Afghan author, Kaled Hosseini. Rarely have I seen such honesty in writing. And it's his first novel. Unbelievable.
I have read "The Kite Runner" and it is a phenomenal novel. In your mind, what makes this novel so engaging?
Finding one's true voice is hard enough, let alone being able to express it clearly. I teach writing to freshmen at a community college, and that's what I hope they learn from my course.
Who are you and what do you write? Welcome to our Blue Hour Blue Moon Writing Blog.
I also read the "Kite Runner" and another book in that same vein, "The Namesake" both are excellent. I think another tell-tale sign of a B.O.N. is that you are willing to read the author's other works (prior or post the B.O.N.) just based on the fact that they wrote it. So essentially you are hungering for more of what they wrote. I am reading "The Interpreter of Maladies" (same author as "Namesake") it is a book of short stories. Just as good, but not the Cat's Pajama's that "The Namesake" was. Oh and back to "The Kite Runner"...it was a story that continued to unfold and unfurl in so many ways. The story was stories inside stories. So good and gripping that human interest...that little bit in us all that wonders, "What would I have done."
PS: People, give me some kudo's, I'm bloggin!
I just read another killer B.O.N. called "Water for Elephants". An amazing book. I realized another characteristic of a B.O.N. is that the characters in the book live with you for a while after you read the book. You sort of wonder...where did they go, what else happened. It was a tremendous book...synopsis:
A former circus vet tells his life story and tales of circus life (love and loss and intrigue) during the Great Depression. Story is told as he reflects back on life at age 93.
Another book that I have heard rave reviews about is "Thousand Splendid Suns" by the same author as "Kite Runner" but I'm saving it to read on vacation.
One parting thought, that Donald Maas defined a B.O.N. based on book sales, and I disagree, I think it's a distinguished book by an author. One that you will remember, one that you tell your friends about and one you'd be willing to shelve in the home-library, even if they are UNHEARD of and didn't sell a million copies.
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