FiggyStars t1_iyc86l0 wrote on November 30, 2022 at 8:56 AM

If you’re setting your standards of romance (in 2003) by The Time Traveller’s Wife, one has to wonder why you even bother at all with the romance genre.

ThrowingSomeBruddahs OP t1_iyc8cli wrote on November 30, 2022 at 8:59 AM

I mean, you have a point there. I’m reading the book as part of a larger list of 3,000 works that claim to be the “best” literature. So my exposure to the romance genre in 2003 is literally just this book—and at the time of writing this post, I had read literally four pages of the book, but found the prologue interesting, so here we are.

FiggyStars t1_iyc9gn1 wrote on November 30, 2022 at 9:15 AM

If that’s the case, you’re doing yourself a major disservice by having this one as your “romance” introduction. Personally I loved the book when I first read it, though it has been a long time.

A lot of romance readers would also argue with you that it’s not romance within the conventions of the genre, which sets you on the back foot immediately, because instead you’ve chosen a popular title that is more contemporary romantic fiction, not romance per say (though for me this is contentious, since I think romance = romance, and it’s the only genre that is so strict on its conventions). Despite its billion dollar empire, romance novels are often excluded from “best of” lists, or “true” romance novels are overlooked instead for books like TTW which are not conventional within the genre but instead are traditionally published for wider market appeal so people can be like, “it’s romance, but it’s not romance and not feel ashamed they’re reading something that is a “guilty pleasure” read.

Also in saying that, with a list so…long? You’re bound to encounter genres that you wouldn’t necessarily read and/or already have confirmation bias against, which I’m assuming from the sounds of this post, you already for anything that borders between romance and the dreaded term “women’s fiction” (which most would label TTW as). For reference, 2,093 true-to-genre romance books were traditionally published in 2003.. TTW wouldn’t even be included in that stat, since it was not published as a “romance” book.

I know this has turned into an extremely long…diatribe, but if you’re goal is to read from a list of what someone has considered best literature, maybe read more than the prologue before inadvertently disparaging the (not quite) genre the book is from.

ThrowingSomeBruddahs OP t1_iycacou wrote on November 30, 2022 at 9:29 AM

Thanks for the thoughtful response. I really appreciate the opportunity to have a discussion.

First, my intention with this post was not to disparage the romance genre, but rather to give a close reading of four paragraphs to argue:

1.) because nobody actually time travels, time traveling stands in for a kind of labor, where Henry is taken away from Clare for extended periods of time while she waits at home

And

2.) the figure of Henry is a woman’s fantasy of what a man might be, who thinks of the woman he loves constantly, even when he’s literally being chaotically displaced through space and time

I admit that I don’t read a lot of romance, but it seems like these claims aren’t inherently offensive? At least I didn’t intend them to be. I think a lot of literature is a fantasy of one form or another: a fantasy of romance, a fantasy of intellectualism, a fantasy of violence, what have you.

It seems like people believe that I’m trying to make sweeping claims about TTW, when my only purpose with this post was to jot down some preliminary observations about romance based on the language used in the prologue to the book.

I hear you that many readers don’t consider this a pure romance. I think I consider it a hybrid between the romance genre and the science fiction genre (specifically HG Wells). I still think it’s interesting to think about how the science fiction elements in the book affect the romantic entanglement described in the prologue.

Anyway, thanks again for the conversation in good faith. I really appreciate it.

laconicflow t1_iycayt8 wrote on November 30, 2022 at 9:38 AM

From what I know about the romance genre, TTTW is fairly close to a high water mark for the year.

I do know what a close reading is. . . I think most practitioners of the form suggest finishing the book before performing one.

I confess I am largely opposed to the close reading you've done. I feel as though in general this kind of reading is kind of a game majors in English Literature like to play where they see what claims a work of fiction can bear the weight of.

I was irritated because I like the book for telling a good story well, and I've given you more shit than I intended. I'm sorry about that, I hope you like the book, and I'd be interested to see how you think your close reading holds up once you finish it.

Unfair t1_iye0d7q wrote on November 30, 2022 at 6:22 PM

It would be nice to have your level of confidence

ThrowingSomeBruddahs OP t1_iyezb3f wrote on November 30, 2022 at 10:07 PM

It doesn’t hurt that I have three degrees in writing and literature. I’m confident in my close reading skills. But I could have been more clear that this was a preliminary exercise and not the final word on the book.

Unfair t1_iyf2a4d wrote on November 30, 2022 at 10:28 PM

Well it was impressive, maybe you could read the first 4 pages of her other novel and let us know what you think.