I really liked this. There were a LOT of dudes working the same lane as Morrison in the 90s-2010s and they were a real fixture of my teens and twenties. China Mieville, Michael Chabon, Patrick Rothfus, even Joss Whedon kind of falls into this category. Guys promising to “elevate” genre fiction, or add genre spices to their literature. I loved this stuff at the time even though I look back on it as kind of empty calories.
Looking back, I think what all those authors had in common is that they combined genre elements with “rewarding you for having an undergrads cultural competence” or “giving a cliffs notes version of Jung”. This made for a reliably entertaining reading experience- and a cliffs notes familiarity with real ideas is better than nothing. But it’s a poor substitute for the genuine article.
Great piece. Growing up in backwaters the Invisibles was my bible. We thought by going to raves we thought we were doing something important, something beyond youthful hedonism. Now it all seems so trite.
Yep, "Invisibles" was a blast to read during the '90s. Amazing that Morrison got to publish such weirdness with a corporate Time Warner owner. (Blessings to Vertigo editor Karen Berger also.)
I really liked this. There were a LOT of dudes working the same lane as Morrison in the 90s-2010s and they were a real fixture of my teens and twenties. China Mieville, Michael Chabon, Patrick Rothfus, even Joss Whedon kind of falls into this category. Guys promising to “elevate” genre fiction, or add genre spices to their literature. I loved this stuff at the time even though I look back on it as kind of empty calories.
Looking back, I think what all those authors had in common is that they combined genre elements with “rewarding you for having an undergrads cultural competence” or “giving a cliffs notes version of Jung”. This made for a reliably entertaining reading experience- and a cliffs notes familiarity with real ideas is better than nothing. But it’s a poor substitute for the genuine article.
Yeah that’s a good point. David Mitchell kind of did that too
“Making you feel smart” is just another consumer experience.
Great piece. Growing up in backwaters the Invisibles was my bible. We thought by going to raves we thought we were doing something important, something beyond youthful hedonism. Now it all seems so trite.
Yep, "Invisibles" was a blast to read during the '90s. Amazing that Morrison got to publish such weirdness with a corporate Time Warner owner. (Blessings to Vertigo editor Karen Berger also.)