Novel of ideas

American literature, unlike its European counterpart, has a weak tradition in what might be called "the novel of ideas," in which writers don't shy from speaking to the "big questions of existence." At the start of my career, with early success with literary short stories, I wrote two novels that went nowhere and part of their difficulty was that each followed the European model. I abandoned fiction for drama.

I haven't returned to the novel of ideas since returning to long fiction -- until now. More and more, Sodom is getting layered with head-on encounters with the big questions. The secret, of course, is to handle this like a magician, keeping the central narrative entertaining and fast-paced. Durrenmatt is the perfect model for this strategy of storytelling. Durrenmatt, my hero. The Physicists, The Visit, extraordinary, successful examples of a narrative getting it several ways, as entertaining and suspenseful black comedies, as serious reflections on difficult ethical questions. If I succeed, I'll do the same thing with the novella -- which may or may not expand into novel length. I want it as short as it can be.

Just a wonderful day once the sun came out this afternoon and the air warmed up. I had a great reading session on the deck, as noted below. Just a few things to fix at this early stage. Focus on moving forward.

The "crazy" young woman is going to know Norman Brown's Love's Body backwards and forward, influence our protagonist historian regarding it ... man, the real key here is to keep the entertainment level narrative in constant view and fast forward gear, so all this serious stuff doesn't muck up the works. A great challenge. And one I'll have fun trying to meet.

The real fun, of course, will begin once I have a draft. It's the rewriting that is the joy of writing.