How do you know if your book is an "issue" book?

lizmonster said:

A writer's beliefs are always going to be on display in a novel. Whether or not a particular book is an "issue" book is going to be part execution, part subjective judgement by the reader.

I'm with mccardey and Helix: if it's centered on character, it probably won't read as an "issue" book to most readers, no matter what it's about.

Click to expand...

You guys have been more helpful than you know. Having lurked on these boards for a while now, I trust your opinions. The post above you, by Kbooks, also makes a good point. If an agent decides my query isn't for them, it's not like they're gonna throw a brick through my window.

mccardey said:

Well now, of course, that depends on the agent...

Click to expand...

So that's what's been happening.

The Black Prince said:

Satire doesn't have to be humorous. 1984 is not renown for its chuckles...it's never been described as lol-worthy.

This is just my definition (and I would certainly describe my own work as satirical - others might call it satyrical) - satire holds a mirror up to society by portraying something in extreme absurdity to reveal an uncomfortable truth. This can be funny (I hope my work is funny) but it's rarely laugh out loud funny - more a wry smile every now and then in recognition of the satirical subtext.

Click to expand...

Not trying to derail this thread, but I would love to be better educated on this topic.

Does satire require "extreme" absurdity, or could it's definition also include "subtle" absurdity? Does subtle absurdity make something an allegory but not necessarily a satire?

For example, I've always considered, Margarett Atwood's A Handmaid's Tale satire. Yet, unlike 1984, I found A Handmaid's Tale's absurdities subtler because I see closer approximations of her absurdities happening contemporaneously in various corners of the world. I know subtle and extreme are very subjective, and I know both works contain elements of satire and allegory, but when determining satire, is the degree of absurdity key?

(Yikes. Reading back over that, I feel like I used a lot of words to ask a dumb question, badly.)

angeliz2k said:

Very much this.

Be aware that readers will have their own perceptions and carry their own baggage into a story as far as what its "message" is. Upton Sinclair famously aimed at America's head when he wrote The Jungle but accidentally hit its stomach: he wrote to promote socialism and labor reform, but he ended up starting a movement to clean up meat processing (and other food processing) plants because his descriptions of them were so horrifying.

Click to expand...

I'm glad you brought that up in this conversation because it's an excellent point. Plus, "I aimed at the public's heart, and by accident, I hit it in the stomach," is an epic reflective quote.

It's also worth noting that even our perceptions aren't fixed in stone. Peter & Wendy meant one thing when I was 12, but something entirely different at 22.