Lowbrow
Humbling myself with "genre" fiction
In my arrogant youth, I dismissed what I perceived as genre books -- mystery/crime/thriller/ -- as beneath contempt. I was interested only in literary fiction…the elders: Henry James, Faulkner, Austen, Forster, Wharton, et al; and their contemporary counterparts: Ian McEwan, Toni Morrison, Barbara Kingsolver, Ann Patchett, and Haruki Mirugami.
Pompous much? It was only recently I came to understand the artistry that goes into many books I’d formerly perceived as lowbrow, often,I’m embarrassed to say, due to their popularity.
Case in point: Stephen King. His mastery of plot along with portrayal of relatable characters and expertise with dialogue put him way ahead of many of the literati darlings. Who better blends the mundane with the terrifying?
My current obsession is Mick Herron, creator of the Slough House novels on which the British spy television series Slow Horses is based. The characters have been banished from MI5, the UK’s domestic counter-intelligence and security agency for fouling up assignments, but not badly enough to get fired. They’re consigned to an office known as Slough House, and deemed Slow Horses, a play on the name of the place itself and an expression for people who are slow at thinking and action.
The magnificent Gary Oldham plays Jackson Lamb, head of Slough House. He’s an unkempt alcoholic, flatulent and rude, with a sour wit, all disguising a tactical sharpness and firm loyalty to his agents.
Herron also wrote the Down Cemetery Road books, which inspired the television series of the same name. Not as great as Slow Horses, but pretty damn good.
From there I went on to other Mick Herron books: Clown Town, The Secret Hours, Dolphin Junction, and The Last Voice You Hear. Many of these reprise characters from the Slough House books; others are stand-alone.
Of course there are many other highly skilled crime/mystery/thriller writers: the old guard – Hammet, Raymond Chandler, Arthur Conan Doyle and the like. (Agatha Christie is a story for another time.).And many contemporary novelists: Tana French, Dennis Lehane, Denise Mina, Jane Harper, and Paula Hawkins.
I’m finding delight in dipping into these new (to me) books and relief from the existential, often navel-gazing preponderance of much of literary fiction. Join me if you dare.
A humbling note: Dickens, who was serialized, was considered by many to be a lowbrow writer.
