Stephen King's "Stand By Me"... literary fiction?

I think so. I don't think it fits into "genre" fiction.

It's called The Body. I would be okay calling it literary. Some may disagree.

KTC said:

It's called The Body. I would be okay calling it literary. Some may disagree.

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I agree with this.

Dollars to doughnuts if there were no genre distinctions, people would read many more books and enjoy them.

bluntforcetrauma said:

Dollars to doughnuts if there were no genre distinctions, people would read many more books and enjoy them.

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I'd agree with THAT.

I go to Metamora often.

I think The Body is one of those rare gems that could be classified as genre or literary. It's a complex, character-driven, coming-of-age story. What's not "literary" about that?

CaroGirl said:

I think The Body is one of those rare gems that could be classified as genre or literary. It's a complex, character-driven, coming-of-age story. What's not "literary" about that?

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i agree with Caro and that is no hasty genrelization!

It's a kind of coming of age story like Catcher in the Rye. Kids finding a random body (the original story is "The Body," so wouldn't you call it that?) They only changed the title to "Stand By Me" for the movie. King has written a few stories that would classify as mainstream. I don't know if I would call his work "literature" or not. Could be.

I homeschool my kids and I used "The Body" as part of my 11th-grader's literature course this year. I think it's an excellent example of how to write good literature without boring the tears out of the readers.

bluntforcetrauma said:

Dollars to doughnuts if there were no genre distinctions, people would read many more books and enjoy them.

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I have to disagree with you there; I think genre is a useful tool to help people find the type of books they enjoy. But then, I suppose a lot of people aren't as willing to read books outside their favorite genres as I am.

KTC said:

It's called The Body. I would be okay calling it literary. Some may disagree.

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I've always considered it one of King's literary pieces. Wonderful short story! (I like King's literary pieces, I'm not a horror fan.)

I'm going with no. Because King isn't a writer of literary fiction, and only those write literary fiction.

wrinkles said:

I'm going with no. Because King isn't a writer of literary fiction, and only those write literary fiction.

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Well that's typecasting isn't it? I'm sorry but this really bothers me. It's shoving people and their work into little boxes, branding them with category names and keeping them caged up within them. I understand the desire for categorization. I really do. But this is a great example of that attitude taken too far. Judge the works individually please rather than pigeonholing the author and using that to label various works the same.

Oh, and I do think The Body might be considered a work of literary fiction, depending on the specific definition of the term being used.

wrinkles said:

I'm going with no. Because King isn't a writer of literary fiction, and only those write literary fiction.

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oh my god you must be kidding me

Literary fiction is just a marketing thing.

wrinkles said:

I'm going with no. Because King isn't a writer of literary fiction, and only those write literary fiction.

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You are absolutely and completely wrong.

King has written several "literary" pieces, The Body is just one of them. The Shawshank Redemption is another.

Stephen King has published several collections of short, literary fiction.

wrinkles said:

I'm going with no. Because King isn't a writer of literary fiction, and only those write literary fiction.

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You do realize that Stephen King has had stories published in literary journals (like Tin House), right?

I don't like King's horror stuff, but I enjoy his mainstream/literary work.

One Bad Word: Whatever that Means.

RickN said:

I homeschool my kids and I used "The Body" as part of my 11th-grader's literature course this year. I think it's an excellent example of how to write good literature without boring the tears out of the readers.

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Bravo Rick! While I wasn't homeshcooled I am a firm believer in it. The benefits to the child in question far outweigh any of the being socially deprived arguments.

As far as The Body/Stand by Me goes, I do feel like it is a literary work. King has written many works that should be considered literary. Some of them are shockingly enough, works of horror. Who says horror fiction can't also be literary?

Genres are helpful to people when they are trying to find a certain kind of book, but the labels also keep them from reading books that they might've otherwise rabidly enjoyed.

In my opinion classifying a writer as a certain genre author is wrong. It's like imprisoning their creative mind. Once they become established as this or that type of writer, then (I believe) they feel as though were they to stray from their supposed field they would lose their audience.

Saying that a person often writes such and such kinds of fiction ought to be enough. Rather than saying this person is this kind of writer.

As writers... Nay as creative beings, we should feel free to write about any damn thing under, over, around, or even beyond the sun; so long as it moves us to pick up pad and pen, or to strike the keys.

S.C. Denton said:

As far as The Body/Stand by Me goes, I do feel like it is a literary work. King has written many works that should be considered literary. Some of them are shockingly enough, works of horror. Who says horror fiction can't also be literary?

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QFT. I'm reminded of this post by Tess Gerritsen:

Some years ago, in honor of “Banned Books Week,” a nearby library invited authors to read aloud from their favorite banned book. I chose King’s first novel, CARRIE, which has been repeatedly banned from school libraries across the country. The audience was mostly literary folks, people who pride themselves on their reading taste. I read the famous shower scene, a piece that pulses with raw energy and passion.

The audience was absolutely riveted. “That scene was from a Stephen King novel?” someone asked in disbelief.

It turned out that many of the listeners had never read King. They thought he was beneath them. They had heard that his books were mere horror novels. They had heard that they weren’t worth reading. So they never even gave him a try.

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http://tessgerritsen.com/blog/2006/12/24/id-never-read-one-of-her-books/

I kid you not. There are literary writers and there aren't. Literary is different from genre just as art is different from craft. As in painting and sculpture and music, there are craftsman and there are artists. King is a master craftsman, not an artist.

Literary works (novels or short stories) are not characterized by language, as is commonly claimed, but by unique insights and images created by the language. As in painting and sculpture and music, these are used to reveal universal connections. To discern and describe connections not before identified is what an artist, and a scientist, and a philospher, does.

Literary writers seldom write genre because they are almost always consumed with the investigation of the here and now. On occasion when they do write using vehicles of mystery or historical, supernatural or science fiction, they are still writing literary works that may appear to be genre, but aren't. They're literary in genre skin.

It isn't necessary to go back to the "Classics" to find works of literary fiction, because many of them weren't. "Literature" is made up of both literary and genre. There are many quality literary writers active today. Their product, though, may require some digging to find.

The above is my personal opinion, I may make no claim to know any universal truths about ths, or anything else.

Yes. You are entitled to your opinion. In fact, you can keep it.

yes - without reading anyone else's post!