James Baquet

    Becky is chatting with her classmate Lily in the common room of their dorm.

    Becky: Hey, Lily. Do you know anything about “wuxia?”

    Lily: Oh, the martial arts novels and films and so on? Sure! I love it! Why do you ask?

    Becky: Well, I’m reading an article about strange genres of literature, and that was on the list.

    Lily: I guess it’s becoming more and more popular in the West, especially since “Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon.” Anyway, what are some of the other genres?

    Becky: Well, one of them just became the name of a TV show: “Penny Dreadful.”

    Lily: I’ve heard of that, but I don’t know what it is.

    Becky: They were a series of cheap magazines, telling an ongoing story, back in Victorian times.

    Lily: That’s mainly the 19th century, right?

    Becky: Right. And that’s the setting of the TV show. But in America, these were called “dime novels.”

    Lily: Also cheap, I guess.

    Becky: Right. Here’s another one. I’m sure you know the type, but maybe not the word: “Bildungsroman.”

    Lily: You’re right; never heard of it.

    Becky: You know those “growing up” stories, where the character goes from child to adult?

    Lily: Oh! Like “The Wizard of Oz,” or “Lord of the Rings.”

    Becky: Exactly! Now, do you know what a “picaresque” novel is?

    Lily: Picturesque? Nice to look at?

    Becky: No, “picaresque.” These are humorous adventure novels, with a likeable but not-entirely-admirable hero.

    Lily: Like “Huckleberry Finn,” maybe? Or “Don Quixote?”

    Becky: That’s right.

    Lily: You know, in my country, we have “The Journey to the West.” The Monkey King, one of the heroes, is a kind of loveable bad boy.

    Becky: Cool! Now, “sagas” are an old type of literature, and were once very popular.

    Lily: “Lord of the Rings” again?

    Becky: In a way. But also Homer’s books, “The Iliad” and “The Odyssey.” Virgil’s “Aeneid,” “Beowulf,” the Norse “Eddas.”

    Lily: Okay! I get it! Big, old stories with a hero who faces lots of challenges.

    Becky: Exactly. All right, here’s the last one: “epistolary novels.”

    Lily: Well, “epistle” means “letter.” So is it a novel in the form of a letter?

    Becky: Yes, or several letters. Also newspaper clippings, diaries, and other sources.

    Lily: I read “Dracula,” and it was like that. Very realistic!

    Becky: That’s right. The “realism” of the sources can start to work on the reader and become very convincing.

    Lily: Yeah, it was scary. Well, listen, I have to go.

    Becky: Gonna do some reading?

    Lily: Yes — but for class!

    Becky: Yuck!