A couple weeks ago I read devoured an award-winning mystery. (In the Woods by Tana French; it won the Edgar for Best First Novel.) I, personally, thought it was fantastic, and apparently so did the MWA (Publishers Weekly and Booklist also gave positive reviews).
But not everyone agrees with us. The Amazon rating is 3 stars (oddly, very evenly distributed among each rating level); the GoodReads rating is about 3.5 stars.
There are several reasons for this, all thoroughly explained in long reviews, of course, but the most common complaint [SPOILER ALERT]: the book presents two mysteries, but never solves one of them.
This actually didn’t bother me. The book was about how the (present day) case ruined the protagonist’s life, and as his life unraveled, the story matched his psychological state. So in that sense, the ending was highly satisfying—it was completely appropriate to the book. (And the other mystery is solved, though not entirely “well.”)
But my point is: there’s no better way to upset the readers of a genre (especially ones like romance and mystery) by flouting the genre’s conventions.
What do you think? Have you seen books successfully flout the conventions of a genre?
I guess I am the odd one out. I actually like books that are not what you expect. I love books that forge ahead into new avenues of literacy. My favorite books seem to be those ones others look at and raise an eyebrow at.
I think the genre that can “break” the rules the easiest is Paranormal. You see alot of avenues taken in it. Paranormal also touches the suspense, fantasy, romance, mystery etc. sub genres as well. I’m sorry I don’t have examples but that is my take on it.
There’s a difference between doing something unexpected (a basic requirement of any new book) and breaking genre conventions. In paranormal, for example, the genre conventions are to go beyond normal human capacities. To break paranormal conventions, you’d have to have no paranormal elements. And I don’t think that would go over well with paranormal fans in a book labeled “paranormal fiction.”
It’d be like a romance where the couple has a terrible fight for the black moment and never gets back together (hence why unhappy romances aren’t labeled “romance” but “women’s fiction”) or, as above, a mystery that is unsolved. People read those genres to be reassured that true love can conquer all and good will prevail over evil. If it doesn’t, they are unsatisfied.