Essays

On Literary Trends

My books are not for those who want to be apprised of the latest trendy topic or to gather fodder to impress a particular social circle. There is nothing trendy about the human condition. It has been with us since the dawn of humankind. My books are for those who silently curl up with a book and get into the world of the characters and who love a good story. They are for the people who think they could be more like Jo in Little Women or Scarlett in Gone With the Wind.

I’m not like Scarlett O’Hara because I don’t think I was ever frivolous or dressed like she did to get the attention of all the young men around her. I’m not like Jo March who lived during the 1800s because I haven’t. But, I do know that I admired Scarlett’s resolve to be the strength of those around her during a bloody Civil War, to dig her soft white hands into the dirt to save Tara and those around her. I do know I admired Jo March’s resolve to save the March family, to save them from starvation though Marmee had too much pride to ask for help but Jo did because she loved Marmee so much. I know I always aspired to have that courage to stand up for what I think even though it might not have been popular at the time like Jo or to get my hands dirty to save those I loved like Scarlett.

The characters in the books we love might not be real but they are real in the writer’s imagination and they slowly creep into ours as we read their story and share their loves and even their grief along with them. They might not be real to begin with but they become real as we read their story and can be a beacon of light to carry on their mission or learn from their mistakes or even see the villain in real life as we might not have before.

Perhaps fiction can make us better people or at the very least let us become engrossed in someone’s life despite the fact that they’re not real, or at the very least create a distraction from our momentary problems and busy lives. Either way, we have shared something with the creator of that book. And, sharing is the start of a better world.