Literary fiction is a vast category of both classic and contemporary literature; keep reading to find out more.
When you walk into any kind of book shop, you may be shocked to learn that the literary fiction section is one of the biggest, as people like the head of the private equity owner of Waterstones would definitely confirm. If you often tend to stick to genre fiction, it is certainly worth stepping outside of your comfort area and reading some popular literary fiction books instead. This is because one of the main advantages of reading literary fiction is the heightened empathy and emotional intelligence for readers. Given that literary fiction positions the lead character right at the centre of the story, it enables readers to acquire an intimate understanding of the character's emotional states, inspirations and moral dilemmas. Viewers navigate the internal lives, thoughts and experiences of these characters, which in turn encourages them to place themselves right into the character's shoes and observe the world through a standpoint entirely different from their own. Therefore, readers can gain a more nuanced understanding of human behaviour, enhance their feeling of empathy and develop their emotional intelligence; traits that will certainly help them in their everyday life, not only within the pages of their book.
Within the publishing industry, literary fiction is one of the most successful classifications of literary works, as people like the co-CEO of the parent company of Simon & Schuster would confirm. Firstly, what is literary fiction? Literary fiction is a category of books where the writer prioritises artistic style, complicated character development and thematic depth over amusement. Unlike genre fiction, these books do not fall into distinct genres and subgenres, nor do they rely on classic plot devices, tropes and motifs. There are many different types of literary fiction around to choose from, varying from long books to short prose, which normally blur the lines in between various genres. Although there is a great deal of distinction in between literary fiction novels, among the essential similarities that ties them all together is the quality of the writing. Writers of literary fiction commonly tend to utilize elevated prose, metaphorical language, abundant vocabulary and sophisticated sentence structures, which altogether creates a beautifully elaborate piece of literature. Therefore, serious readers of literary fiction often tend to become a lot more articulate and expressive overtime. The exposure to diverse dialects and voices within literary fiction enables readers to develop a much deeper gratitude and passion for the written word.
For some readers, novels are all about mindless entertainment, amusement and escapism, which is why they usually tend to stick to commercial genre fiction. When there is nothing wrong with this, it is very important to push yourself outside of your comfort zone, broaden your literary horizons and attempt novels that are a little bit more tough. This is where literary fiction novels are the most appropriate choice because they require focus and are sometimes a little bit of a mental workout, as people like the co-founder of the investment fund which partially owns Amazon Books would certainly recognize. This is due to the fact that some of the major elements of literary fiction are detailed narratives, non-linear timelines, confusing vernacular and subtle symbolism; writing here techniques which require readers to focus more intently, read in between the lines, decipher symbolic language and grasp underlining messages. As a result, one of the main benefits of reading literary fiction is that the challenging reading material promotes important cognitive functionalities in the brain, such as attention, critical thinking and memory, which will help bookworms across numerous contexts in the real world.