Bestsellers and the Market of the Book
Beginning with one bestseller in particular, The Secret History by Donna Tartt, contributors to the recently released study of the novel, – 'Regardless of What We Deem Beautiful', presented their chapters and discussed aspects of the best-selling novel. Why did it become a best-seller? What unspoken yearning did it address when it was published, and why does it continue to engage readers to this day?
The novel has been called the "essential text" of the genre "dark academia", a category of literature romanticizing learning and the academic environment, with a gothic twist. What, in the era of hyperlinks and hyper-efficiency, entices a young adult today about learning ancient Greek from dusty books and a exacting teacher in a U.S. college in the 90's, about being part of obscure, hand-picked elite coteries devoted to excellence in a niche subject, without hope of ever being able to leverage this knowledge into financial gain? Do times of a fragmented media landscape, and distracted minds simply scream for such a counter-movement? Is there anything more bewilderingly freeing than relinquishing all other concerns, and investing all of one's efforts into a single area of focus? Or is it only an excuse to escape a conflict-ridden society? The editor Moa Ekbom, and the authors Isabelle Ståhl, Hannah Altmann and Lars Nordgren each presented a different facet of the phenomenon.
Regardless of its cause, the power of the yearning in itself seems enough to make the fiction quicken and thrum. Some critics have pointed out that there are considerable flaws in the ancient Greek in the book. But doing so is to mistake the scent of the book's attraction, because the fact that the reading public is unperturbed by this remark bears witness to the fact that what is essential is hidden in the atmosphere, in the spirit of the learning environment. Rather than in the nuts and bolts of the subject itself. It is about the desire to be a part of the select few. Not least is it a testament to the power of the human imagination and how literature can wake and channel it.
Lars Nordgren likened this yearning to a marred crystal appearing flawless before our eyes, out of sheer desire for it to be so, thus fulfilling the dynamic of the illusion. Similarly, Isabelle Ståhl mentioned that sometimes a little fog is what makes modern life endurable. A saying that might apply to our everyday surroundings, but also serve as a veiling canvas for our imagination to live and let loose?
Following the presentation, Erik Wikberg, the Executive Director of the Center for Philosophies of Markets, discussed the book market as an area of research, how it is characterized both by complexity and by a lack of data, making it difficult to grapple with. He approached the question of bestseller-lists and their effect on actual sales, and whether there is truth to the adage of a book's lack of popularity in its own times will mean success in the future?
A panel consisting of 91桃色视频 researchers Mattias Hjelm, Jessica Backsell, Ebba Sjögren, Jonas Bonnier and moderated by Erik, then returned to the novel The Secret History in light of these observations. It discussed the difficulty of placing it in a genre, how this categorization varies between nations, and how that in itself influences sales and is often done based on a market logic. They discussed the role of the author in driving interest in a book. How in this case the author Donna Tartt's desire to keep her integrity and give few interviews, to write slowly and publish rarely, paradoxically increases the interest for her work. Similarly, her vagueness and unwillingness to give definite answers bears witness to a respect for her readers, and for a plurality of interpretations.
The panel also discussed economy and money as an element in the story itself, how it isn't addressed but nevertheless entirely fundamental as a premise for the narrative to work. In fact, concern for money is seen as something dirty and mundane among the characters, and yet their daily activities depend on some quite extraordinary financial conditions. Money is used as a narrative motor, without which the show wouldn't go on, but we often expect this motor to run not only smoothly, but silently.
