MisLit (miserable literature for those of you who have managed to evade its presence) is the genre equivalent of shopping at a pound shop. It is considered tacky, unsophisticated and although most of us have been in one at some point, it is looked down upon by most, and especially those who aspire to dizzying literary heights. You can recognise MisLit at twenty paces. The books have titles like 'Mummy, No!' or any negative past-tense verb (think 'Damaged' or 'Cut'). They have pictures of sad children on the front and the font is in the style of handwriting. They describe horrific stories of abuse and abandonment. But what exactly is it about these books that repel so many of us? Shouldn't we feel sympathy instead of a sense of superiority?
MisLit produces a similar feeling to watching a car crash. We don't want to stand and stare, but we can't tear our eyes away. We instinctively feel that viewing such misery and horror up close is somewhow intruding, that to gawp is vulgar. It can also be argued that such literature brings home the evils of the world when we would rather focus on more positive content. It can be difficult to accept the worst of humanity so we choose to ignore it as much as we can. Other reasons for the lowly status of MisLit may include the suspicion that many of these 'autobiographies' are in fact invented, which again may stem from the fear that if we acknowledge the darker side as real we leave open the possibility that it could happen to us, or to someone we love.
I personally enjoy sad books, but not as a defining feature. What do you think?
Have never heard the term MisLit before but Cathy Glass definitely falls into that category, haha! I find her books provide a good sense of perspective (even though like you say there's a chance they're not true) but I definitely know what you mean.
ReplyDeleteI personally also enjoy sad books especially the typical 'happy ending' ones, I think people in general love to read about others overcoming adversity.
ReplyDeleteI would personally have thought that many of us actually enjoy reading these MisLit style books for the simple reason that we have comfort in the fact that it hasnt happened to us and that we are somehow safe from it. I think this is true in any style of book though for example a fantasy style enables the reader to elevate their own world to something different, if only for a brief moment we put ourselves into the storyline and think how we would act etc.
I look forward to reading 'The Blind Side' which if you have seen the film should move even the most emotionally challenged of us (not sure if this would come under MisLit but think it might )