I recently began reviewing books for a network of book review sites (under a pseudonym, so don’t look for any critique-bouquets or brickbats from me online), and it’s been an interesting experience. Most of the books I’ve reviewed so far have been readable, well written, and fairly interesting. (Except the historical romances. I told the editors to spare me any more bodice rippers. Can’t stand ’em.) But overall I’d have to say the books I’ve reviewed so far are simply…ho hum. With few exceptions, I’d never spend my own money to buy another book by these authors. The experience has made me wonder: What is it exactly that makes a compelling story? Why are the books I’ve been reviewing not living up to that standard? The answer, I’ve decided, is that they’re not big enough. The stories lack the “hugeness” that is necessary to make a story into a must-read novel.
What do I mean by “big”? Think of
Small-scale family dramas can be big as well as super-sized stories. Think of The Bridges of Madison County (don’t groan–it sold 12 million copies). As long as the emotional stakes are huge, any type of drama, large scale or small, can be “big.”
Do you agree that being big is important to the success of a story? What are some of the “biggest” stories you’ve loved?
Kathryn, I like “big” concept stories; books or movies. Your examples are some of the biggest contemporary novels around. I look for not only a big “wow” factor but an equally big “so what” factor. For instance, in your example of JAWS, the wow factor is that there’s an indiscriminate serial killer terrorizing a small New England resort town during the bloated Fourth of July weekend. That could draw a fairly big wow factor. But the next question, one that all writers should ask as we describe our plot is, “so what”? The so what factor is why most people are intrigued by a book and want to keep reading. In the case of JAWS, the so what factor is that the serial killer is a great white shark.
THE DA VINCI CODE was probably the biggest concept book I’ve read in the last 10 years. The wow factor was the discovery that Christ had married and his bloodline extended down through the ages to present day. That’s a big wow factor. But then we have to ask, so what, or more bluntly, who cares? And the answer is that revealing the secret could bring down two thousand years of Christianity and destroy the Church along with the faith of its 1-billion members.
Big and deep. That’s what I want in a book but rarely ever find. Deep I can’t describe–I just know it when I read it.
I find life more frustrating as a reader then as a writer b/c it is so hard to find big, deep books.
Of course my idea of big and deep might be someone else’s small and shallow. But I sure would like to find more books to read that meet the criteria.
“Big” stories have to be handled properly by the author. A man who figured out how to bring dinosaurs back to life that terrorize a group of people could be the most ridiculous story ever, if not told well.
Big stories need master craftsmen to make them believable and make the reader care.
“Big” concept stories definitely appeal to me more than anything else. SPIN by Robert Charles Wilson is probably the best of this kind that I’ve ever read. In it, the whole lives of three friends play out while the world copes with the opaque membrane that has cut the planet off from the rest of the universe.
And both plots read equally large. You care as much about the life of the main character and his relationships as you do about the fate of the earth. It’s a fantastic book, and a perfect example of what you’re talking about.
Joe, that’s a good point about the “so what” factor. The story not only has to be big in scope, but have some impact on people or a society that makes the reader care. BK, I know what you mean about it being hard to find big, deep books. They’re very hard to find, and I’m so thrilled when I find a new author who captures that magic. Victoria, you’re right that “big” needs to be handled with care and craft. Otherwise we’d have legions of cartoony books about madmen plotting to destroy the world. Joe R., I’m going to download a sample of SPIN and give it a read. Sounds good!
Big is important to me, because to find myself immersed in the story I have to feel that the plot may affect me if the hero doesn’t get it solved.
For historical stories, the story has to be big enough that I can see its place in history and feel that the characters may have actually had an impact that affected the generations to follow.
For Sci-Fi … well unless its really smartly written and makes me curious about some deeper concept I don’t get into Sci-Fi. One good one was “The Practice Effect” by David Brin back in ’84.
A couple of other examples of good Big stories I liked:
“Once an Eagle” Anton Myrer
“Gates of Fire” Stephen Pressfield
One of my all time favourite big stories is “Ireland” by Frank Delaney. While it is not a thriller, and the modern plot is within a single family, it deals with the demise of the Seanachie, or oral story teller, and his art. Something that affects me directly as a thousands year old tradition has nearly vanished by the end of the book.
Oh, and “Cat in the Hat”, which kept on seat’s edge as I read with the knowledge that my father had a big wooden crate in the garage that occasionally rattled as if the “thing” brothers were inside.
Actually Cat in the Hat kind of creeped me out now that I think about it. Home invading talking cat and 2 ADHD monsters running about uncontrollably while mom is out. Excuse me, I’m going to sit in a quiet room and try to purge that memory now.
Basil, I think The Cat in the Hat was the orignal Terminator, only more benign. You couldn’t stop him–he was like an irresistable force of nature that had to be dealt with.
Books don’t have to be big for me to fall in love with one. They just have to emotionally connect with me, or be atmospheric, or make me think.
Lately, I’ve been reading a lot of Young Adult books. My first YA book will be released by Harlequin Teen in Apr 2011 – In the Arms of Stone Angels. YA has come a long way. And I’ve been amazed at how imaginative the authors are. The ones that seem to do the best with readers are the dark edgy books, the ones dealing with hot button topics for teens, like sex, suicide, eating disorders, cutting, and world building fantasy books that delve into the paranormal.
I do understand what you mean about BIG BOOKS, but a well-told story with memorable characters and personal conflicts that grip you by the throat will make me happy every time. I just finished the Immortal Instruments series by Cassandra Clare. City of Bones, City of Ashes, and City of Glass. The world building was great and each book added to the series, but it was her character development that I thought was most brilliant.
Thanks for the thought provoking post, Kathryn.
To Kill A Mockingbird was and is a BIG BOOK set in a little bitty place and bigger-than-life characters. Want to know why Harper Lee never published another book, read it. What in God’s name could she have ever written that would have come close. I don’t think you can set out to write a BIG book and do it. I think the Big ones just become that way from the spark through to the reader.
I disagree that Bridges of Madison County was a big book. It was a little book that touched a nerve, and the desire of women to be loved–especially if their marriage is not fulfilling.
“Big book” to me means “book with universal appeal.” The stakes don’t have to involve the world in balance; they have to involve threats and goals than everyone can identify with.
JURASSIC PARK wasn’t another book about dinosaurs; it was a book about survival against all odds, and about technological advances with unintended consequences. The dinosaurs were McGuffins.
Miller’s point about TKAM is spot on. That book is “Big” because it’s 1) perfect, and 2) about challenges that resonate to this day.
The DA VINCI CODE was “big” for me because it made me think in ways I’d never thought before, and to notice artistic minutae that I’d never have seen on my own.
I think it all comes down to imagery and character, and it’s as true of movies as it is of books. TITANIC would have done one quarter of the business it did if all the spectacular SFX hadn’t been supported by a story about people I cared about.
John Gilstrap
http://www.johngilstrap.com
I agree that To Kill a Mockingbird was one of the biggest books in American literature, John. I have mixed thoughts about Bridges of Madison County. It’s easy to dismiss it as trivial, but then, think of Anna Karenina. In its day, it was once dismissed by Russian critics as a trifling romance of high life.
John G, I love the notion of the dinosaurs as McGuffins. Normally the McGuffin is being chased throughout the plot, but in Jurassic Park, the McGuffins were chasing the characters. Great turnabout. Jordan, you’re right about the way YA literature has changed. I remember YA stuff when I was a teen. It was pretty pale stuff compared to what the kids are reading now.
Hunt For Red October.