Why read novels

By Michael P. Downey

Why is it that folks write novels and more important, why do others read them? Nonfiction can be informative and educational. It could to lead to a better job and more money. A writer generally chooses a topic, marshals some facts, and interprets them for the reader. Often the author attempts to persuade us to accept his or her "correct" understanding.

On the other hand, fiction by definition, is just not true. Or is it? Some folks avoid fiction because it's not to their taste. It may seem to be a waste of time if it doesn't deal with facts. The problem is there are uncountable facts and one fact is no truer than any other. Facts lack meaning.

Everything that people do, say, or say they believe comes down to the basic human attribute of the desire for their lives to be meaningful. Life has to mean something, doesn't it? Meaning may very well be equated with value. The best reason to read novels may be to search for meaning.

Words had always been important to me. As a lad I was a voracious reader. Not textbooks or other school materials mind you, but novels, biographies, and as I got older, nonfiction such as news articles, histories, and even the occasional religious or philosophical essay. If I had to identify one ingredient that has shaped who I am, it would be all the words I have devoured.

My literary tastes ran to realistic drama and adventures. I identified with the heroes of biographies and novels. The likes of Lincoln, Daniel Boone, and JFK became my mentors. Vince Lombardi became my coach.

Gerry Kramer and Jackie Robinson were like teammates. I developed my moral compass by reading the lives of the saints. Deep in my bones I felt a longing to be a hero, a saint, or even a martyr. It was a rich internal world that I fed constantly.

As I got older, historical novels enriched and expanded my view of the world. I learned about China from Pearl S. Buck. I sailed up and down that exotic country's rivers aboard a gunboat in the Sand Pebbles. I voyaged to Hawaii with Michener. I hunted Michigan's Upper Peninsula and darkest Africa with Hemingway.

I joined the Marines and went to war courtesy of Leon Uris. Like a sponge I absorbed the scenes and characters of the people in my favorite novels.

I swaggered through the hallways of the hospital alongside Randall McMurphy and found a new role model in Kesey. My occasional battles with parents and teachers reminded me of standing up to the Big Nurse. Without realizing it, my own character was being shaped by the world of fiction.

Sure, I had thought of becoming a writer myself. Although I was always reading I never tried to write much of anything until I found myself in a creative writing class in high school. The laborious process of getting the spelling and grammar right seemed like a pain in the ass.

I did enjoy the praise I sometimes got from teachers and fellow students. At 17 years old I decided I didn't really have anything interesting or exciting to write about. From that moment I told myself I would endeavor to lead a life that would be worth writing about.

About eight years ago I began writing seriously. I started out with nonfiction like opinions, essays, and sketches about life in Alaska and South Korea. My first book was a memoir about the 10 years I spent in the commercial fishing industry in Alaska.

Next I turned my hand to fiction and published a volume of 10 short stories. I started my first novel, set in the salmon fishing community, five years ago and published it three years later.

Recently I completed the manuscript of my second novel. It is the story of Kim Jeong-sook and her escape from North Korea, her sojourn through China, her life in South Korea, and her return to the North to rescue her father. It's a fantastic story and I plan to publish it by the end of this year.

As a novelist I'm primarily a story teller. My goal is to create a narrative that points my readers towards some meaning. The story has to be engaging and entertaining but it should also suggest a meaning.

Often I get asked about how my book sales are going. Well, as you might imagine, it's a sore topic with me. Sometimes I share with them the following quote that has encouraged me.

"We shouldn't be alarmed if a book doesn't find its readership straight away. Books are not instant objects. Books can wait. Success might not even come during the author's lifetime. Of course it is better if it comes sooner, but literature is not a place for immediacy. It's not just a medium, and its purpose is not just to communicate information.

I'd even say it's quite reassuring if a book has trouble getting known. There is something suspicious about a book that is immediately successful. Either it's not very original, or there's been too much hype or advertising, which is a kind of deception. Literature is like wine ― it needs to age a little in the bottle."

For entertainment and also to think about the meaning of your life I suggest you read a novel.

Here's a good one I've read for the second time recently. "The Fat Years." It is an odd, sometimes funny, and a little scary look at modern day China under the Chinese Communist Party by Chan Koonchung.

Michael P. Downey (mpdowney308@gmail.com) is an author and teacher living in South Korea. In his free time he is a human rights activist primarily working with refugees from North Korea. As a volunteer English teacher and speech coach (with Teach North Korean Refugees) he is endeavoring to give them a voice by assisting them in telling their stories.