Books that Break the Rules

[marilyn peake]

I'm always fascinated by books that break contemporary rules and succeed. I'm currently reading the science fiction novel, GENESIS by Bernard Beckett: http://www.amazon.com/Genesis-Bernard-B ... 288&sr=1-1 . Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt and receiving fantastic reviews, it's practically all telling with hardly any showing at all. It's the fictional record of an oral examination for entrance to an Academy. I find this complete lack of showing rather fascinating, since it clearly goes against current advice to writers.

[victoria]

Oh I must give this a read. The book that comes to mind when you mentioned breaking the rules was Arundhati Roy's The God of Small Things (that gave me a little hope that everything can be published! Although on a side note I heard Irvine Welsh speak today - he said that he believed that Trainspotting would not be published today).

While it was interesting and refreshing to read I haven't picked it up or wanted to re-read it since, which may say a lot about breaking the rules!