One of the most difficult popular fiction genres to define with any precision is the “thriller.” Years ago in a book review (I can’t recall which one right now), John Updike wrote, “At some level, every novel aspires to be a thriller.” Or words to that effect. I think he meant that even avant-garde novelists who eschew plot and tension in their works probably aspire to thrill their readers with dazzling prose or brilliant insights into the human condition or some clever form of literary experimentation – or perhaps a combination of all three. No doubt every writer longs to hear that his work is thrilling. But, for the last half century or so, when publishers or p.r. reps or reviewers have applied the word “thriller” to a novel, it has usually been done to convey to potential purchasers that the book is fast-paced and suspenseful, a novel you “won’t be able to put down.” Such books are also sometimes called “page-turners” or, if they contain some aspect of supernatural horror, “chillers.”
WHAT IS A THRILLER?
WHAT IS A THRILLER?
WHAT IS A THRILLER?
One of the most difficult popular fiction genres to define with any precision is the “thriller.” Years ago in a book review (I can’t recall which one right now), John Updike wrote, “At some level, every novel aspires to be a thriller.” Or words to that effect. I think he meant that even avant-garde novelists who eschew plot and tension in their works probably aspire to thrill their readers with dazzling prose or brilliant insights into the human condition or some clever form of literary experimentation – or perhaps a combination of all three. No doubt every writer longs to hear that his work is thrilling. But, for the last half century or so, when publishers or p.r. reps or reviewers have applied the word “thriller” to a novel, it has usually been done to convey to potential purchasers that the book is fast-paced and suspenseful, a novel you “won’t be able to put down.” Such books are also sometimes called “page-turners” or, if they contain some aspect of supernatural horror, “chillers.”