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ENTRY

"What kind of books do you write?"
August 8, 2008

When people find out I'm a book writer, they ask, "What kind of books do you write?" I know the question is coming but I always cringe when I hear it. It's a legitimate question of course; the problem is I haven't figured out how to answer it.

If you've read my novels, you know why I cringe. I write in a relatively peculiar style employing sidebars, marginalia, elements of non-fiction and other genres, sprinkles of science and philosophy, and of course my wife's art. My stories are not typically mainstream either?some of my characters include an artist who goes mad painting a view of Mt. Fuji every day for a year, a lovelorn competitive calligrapher, a neuroscience graduate student, a dysfunctional curator. For plots, I like to weave in multiple storylines and time spans. My new novel Oh! A mystery of 'mono no aware' (Chin Music Press) contains elements of non-fiction, memoir, and poetry mixed in with the fiction.

To answer the question, I usually start out with, "I write novels." If the person responds with "Fiction or non-fiction?" then I know a little bit about how much they read. For them, I usually answer some very broad answer like, "They're fiction. Contemporary fiction. Not in any genre like mystery or science fiction. My wife illustrates them."

Their eyes have usually started to glaze over by now or they ask, "Children's books?"

If the person does know that a novel is fiction, I launch into a little more detail: "Somewhat experimental, post-modernish, dealing with Asian or Asian-American themes to some degree, but also broad questions of existence. A friend of mine calls them 'philosophical mysteries.'"

The glaze appears.

Sometimes, a person asks me for a comparable author or ones I like to read, probably expecting me to give them some name they recognize such as Stephen King, John Grisham, or maybe J.K. Rowling. Sorry, no. "My favorite author is the Japanese writer Kobo Abe. He wrote 'The Ruined Map' which is my all-time favorite novel. He's most famous for 'The Woman in the Dunes,' which was made into an award-winning film in the 1960s." Adding something about film usually sparks some attention, then I lose them with: "I also like Jose Saramago, Malcom Lowery's 'Under the Volcano,' and Umberto Eco, particularly 'Foucault's Pendulum'."

By now, they are trying to get away from me. I run after them, saying, "But my novels are really suspenseful with complex characters. Forget all about that postmodern, philosophy stuff I mentioned. They're just really good stories about love and desire, success and failure, and what it means to be human. If you just give them a try ? well, okay, thanks for asking anyway."

The problem of course is that not many people read novels. Even a smaller portion read contemporary, non-mainstream fiction. I'm lucky to have any readers at all, given the description I just gave. So I've come to appreciate every one of them.

#

© 2013

COMMENTS

Number of comments: 2
click here to add a comment

Lee Witte
glad to hear someone else has this problem. It always comes out kind of a mess when I try to explain.

Jo Reed
The person asking the question usually doesn't really care. They are just being nice. I tell them sex, drugs, and rock-and-roll.

ARCHIVE

date (comments)

Review: Paprika
April 21, 2013 (3)

Review: A Straight Road With 99 Curves
March 30, 2013 (1)

Gripping writing
Feb. 28, 2013 (2)

Review: Salvation of a Saint
January 19, 2013 (2)

2012 in review
December 30, 2012 (2)

Review: Ninja
September 30, 2012 (2)

Review: My Postwar Life
August 21, 2012 (1)

New interview with Colin Marshall
July 15, 2012 (3)

Book events
April 25, 2012 (2)

Subduction
March 14, 2012 (8)

Review: A Room Where the Star Spangled Banner Cannot Be Heard
January 14, 2012 (1)

Review: Plainsong
December 20, 2011 (3)

Review: The Devil's Disciple
November 29, 2011 (2)

Haruki Murakami
October 5, 2011 (2)

Busyness and demons
September 25, 2011 (2)

Characters: The Bully
July 30, 2011 (3)

Review: Manazuru
June 28, 2011 (2)

Deadlines!
June 24, 2011 (2)

Review: Butterfly's Sisters
May 18, 2011 (1)

Review: Isle of Dreams
April 20, 2011 (2)

Cades Award for Literature press release
April 12, 2011 (2)

Japan and other news
March 29, 2011 (1)

Borders bankruptcy
February 17, 2011 (2)

2010 review
December 17, 2010 (6)

Congratulations Mario Vargas Llosa
October 7, 2010 (2)

OH! wins best book award
September 23, 2010 (2)

Review: Kissing the Mask
August 22, 2010 (1)

Jonathan Lethem: Writing at the margins
July 12, 2010 (2)

Review: Love in Translation
June 22, 2010 (3)

Jose Saramago
June 18, 2010 (0)

Marketplace of Ideas interview
June 11, 2010 (2)

Imagining Memory
May 6, 2010 (1)

Upcoming Los Angeles events
April 7, 2010 (2)

Time and energy
March 30, 2010 (2)

Review: Botchan
February 28, 2010 (2)

J.D. Salinger
January 28, 2010 (1)

2009 Reviewed
December 31, 2009 (5)

Review: The Word Book
December 12, 2009 (1)

Chaat and Chat event with OH!
November 6, 2009 (2)

Home at last
November 2, 2009 (2)

Los Angeles events
October 17, 2009 (1)

Poets and poetry
October 7, 2009 (1)

Time + place
September 24, 2009 (1)

The future of books
September 23, 2009 (1)

October book tour
September 6, 2009 (1)

Blogging at Powell's Books
August 28, 2009 (2)

The evolution of an idea
August 3, 2009 (1)

The Poetics of Motoori Norinaga: A Hermeneutical Journey
July 9, 2009 (2)

Tour debrief
July 2, 2009 (3)

Book tour events
May 18, 2009 (3)

Simply in the mood
April 24, 2009 (2)

Book tour
April 8, 2009 (6)

The Necessary Book
March 2, 2009 (2)

"Murder Makes the Magazine"
February 7, 2009 (3)

John Updike
January 27, 2009 (2)

2008 misc. (good news, bad news)
January 1, 2009 (3)

Publishing woes and query letters
December 13, 2008 (4)

Punctuation compunction
November 16, 2008 (3)

The Fountain of Youth (and other Ideas)
October 10, 2008 (2)

David Foster Wallace
September 14, 2008 (2)

Ending it all
September 12, 2008 (2)

The mystery of plotting, the plotting of mysteries
August 29, 2008 (3)

Blocking out the block
August 20, 2008 (3)

"What kind of books do you write?"
August 8, 2008 (2)

Theory of Satisfaction: Part 4
July 21, 2008 (3)

Show and tell
July 14, 2008 (3)

Theory of Satisfaction: Part 3
July 7, 2008 (7)

Advice for first-time writers (Barry Gifford and me)
June 30, 2008 (6)

Theory of Satisfaction: Part 2
June 18, 2008 (3)

To be or not to be
June 10, 2008 (6)

Theory of Satisfaction: Part 1
June 3, 2008 (6)

Virtual unreality
May 31, 2008 (4)

The purpose of this blog
May 21, 2008 (5)

Todd Shimoda's Writer's Blog home \| current \| forthcoming \| past \| contact
ENTRY "What kind of books do you write?" August 8, 2008 When people find out I'm a book writer, they ask, "What kind of books do you write?" I know the question is coming but I always cringe when I hear it. It's a legitimate question of course; the problem is I haven't figured out how to answer it. If you've read my novels, you know why I cringe. I write in a relatively peculiar style employing sidebars, marginalia, elements of non-fiction and other genres, sprinkles of science and philosophy, and of course my wife's art. My stories are not typically mainstream either?some of my characters include an artist who goes mad painting a view of Mt. Fuji every day for a year, a lovelorn competitive calligrapher, a neuroscience graduate student, a dysfunctional curator. For plots, I like to weave in multiple storylines and time spans. My new novel Oh! A mystery of 'mono no aware' (Chin Music Press) contains elements of non-fiction, memoir, and poetry mixed in with the fiction. To answer the question, I usually start out with, "I write novels." If the person responds with "Fiction or non-fiction?" then I know a little bit about how much they read. For them, I usually answer some very broad answer like, "They're fiction. Contemporary fiction. Not in any genre like mystery or science fiction. My wife illustrates them." Their eyes have usually started to glaze over by now or they ask, "Children's books?" If the person does know that a novel is fiction, I launch into a little more detail: "Somewhat experimental, post-modernish, dealing with Asian or Asian-American themes to some degree, but also broad questions of existence. A friend of mine calls them 'philosophical mysteries.'" The glaze appears. Sometimes, a person asks me for a comparable author or ones I like to read, probably expecting me to give them some name they recognize such as Stephen King, John Grisham, or maybe J.K. Rowling. Sorry, no. "My favorite author is the Japanese writer Kobo Abe. He wrote 'The Ruined Map' which is my all-time favorite novel. He's most famous for 'The Woman in the Dunes,' which was made into an award-winning film in the 1960s." Adding something about film usually sparks some attention, then I lose them with: "I also like Jose Saramago, Malcom Lowery's 'Under the Volcano,' and Umberto Eco, particularly 'Foucault's Pendulum'." By now, they are trying to get away from me. I run after them, saying, "But my novels are really suspenseful with complex characters. Forget all about that postmodern, philosophy stuff I mentioned. They're just really good stories about love and desire, success and failure, and what it means to be human. If you just give them a try ? well, okay, thanks for asking anyway." The problem of course is that not many people read novels. Even a smaller portion read contemporary, non-mainstream fiction. I'm lucky to have any readers at all, given the description I just gave. So I've come to appreciate every one of them. # © 2013	COMMENTS Number of comments: 2 click here to add a comment Lee Witte glad to hear someone else has this problem. It always comes out kind of a mess when I try to explain. Jo Reed The person asking the question usually doesn't really care. They are just being nice. I tell them sex, drugs, and rock-and-roll.	ARCHIVE date (comments) Review: Paprika April 21, 2013 (3) Review: A Straight Road With 99 Curves March 30, 2013 (1) Gripping writing Feb. 28, 2013 (2) Review: Salvation of a Saint January 19, 2013 (2) 2012 in review December 30, 2012 (2) Review: Ninja September 30, 2012 (2) Review: My Postwar Life August 21, 2012 (1) New interview with Colin Marshall July 15, 2012 (3) Book events April 25, 2012 (2) Subduction March 14, 2012 (8) Review: A Room Where the Star Spangled Banner Cannot Be Heard January 14, 2012 (1) Review: Plainsong December 20, 2011 (3) Review: The Devil's Disciple November 29, 2011 (2) Haruki Murakami October 5, 2011 (2) Busyness and demons September 25, 2011 (2) Characters: The Bully July 30, 2011 (3) Review: Manazuru June 28, 2011 (2) Deadlines! June 24, 2011 (2) Review: Butterfly's Sisters May 18, 2011 (1) Review: Isle of Dreams April 20, 2011 (2) Cades Award for Literature press release April 12, 2011 (2) Japan and other news March 29, 2011 (1) Borders bankruptcy February 17, 2011 (2) 2010 review December 17, 2010 (6) Congratulations Mario Vargas Llosa October 7, 2010 (2) OH! wins best book award September 23, 2010 (2) Review: Kissing the Mask August 22, 2010 (1) Jonathan Lethem: Writing at the margins July 12, 2010 (2) Review: Love in Translation June 22, 2010 (3) Jose Saramago June 18, 2010 (0) Marketplace of Ideas interview June 11, 2010 (2) Imagining Memory May 6, 2010 (1) Upcoming Los Angeles events April 7, 2010 (2) Time and energy March 30, 2010 (2) Review: Botchan February 28, 2010 (2) J.D. Salinger January 28, 2010 (1) 2009 Reviewed December 31, 2009 (5) Review: The Word Book December 12, 2009 (1) Chaat and Chat event with OH! November 6, 2009 (2) Home at last November 2, 2009 (2) Los Angeles events October 17, 2009 (1) Poets and poetry October 7, 2009 (1) Time + place September 24, 2009 (1) The future of books September 23, 2009 (1) October book tour September 6, 2009 (1) Blogging at Powell's Books August 28, 2009 (2) The evolution of an idea August 3, 2009 (1) The Poetics of Motoori Norinaga: A Hermeneutical Journey July 9, 2009 (2) Tour debrief July 2, 2009 (3) Book tour events May 18, 2009 (3) Simply in the mood April 24, 2009 (2) Book tour April 8, 2009 (6) The Necessary Book March 2, 2009 (2) "Murder Makes the Magazine" February 7, 2009 (3) John Updike January 27, 2009 (2) 2008 misc. (good news, bad news) January 1, 2009 (3) Publishing woes and query letters December 13, 2008 (4) Punctuation compunction November 16, 2008 (3) The Fountain of Youth (and other Ideas) October 10, 2008 (2) David Foster Wallace September 14, 2008 (2) Ending it all September 12, 2008 (2) The mystery of plotting, the plotting of mysteries August 29, 2008 (3) Blocking out the block August 20, 2008 (3) "What kind of books do you write?" August 8, 2008 (2) Theory of Satisfaction: Part 4 July 21, 2008 (3) Show and tell July 14, 2008 (3) Theory of Satisfaction: Part 3 July 7, 2008 (7) Advice for first-time writers (Barry Gifford and me) June 30, 2008 (6) Theory of Satisfaction: Part 2 June 18, 2008 (3) To be or not to be June 10, 2008 (6) Theory of Satisfaction: Part 1 June 3, 2008 (6) Virtual unreality May 31, 2008 (4) The purpose of this blog May 21, 2008 (5)