One of the most exciting books I’ve read in a while is Reality Hunger by David Shields. It’s not a book that I agree with 100%, but I do admire that Shields has found a beautiful way to advocate for his kind of literature. This interview gives some idea of what you’ll find in the book:

Rumpus: You watch Slumdog Millionaire?

Shields. Yes.

Rumpus: It’s the polar opposite. After about page one hundred you realize everyone will die or wish they had. That’s difficult to achieve.

Shields: Obviously there are exceptions. But what I find repeatedly is that a very intelligent writer will begin with a great idea, I know it’s an easy target, but I’ll use Jonathan Franzen. His idea is that we tend to overcorrect…on a personal level, a psychological, a familial, a geopolitical, an economic level…so he has this idea of writing The Corrections. And he wants to trace this over families and generations, and I’m really interested in that…but what does he do? He gives up way too much ground; he sacrifices too much on the altar of plot.

For what it’s worth, I think I have a little bit more tolerance for plot than Shields does, but just a smidgen. Given a choice between a book with a great plot that ultimately feels hollow, or just average or a book with expertly elaborated themes that feel new, but no “plot” whatsoever I’m going for the latter every time.