Erich Remiker: "Dear Bridget Smith: Classics are Read for a Reason"

Dear Bridget Smith: Classics are Read for a Reason

By Erich Remiker

            Be unique, just like everyone else! I have heard this sentiment in ways both sarcastic and serious throughout my schooling. As a young person, I often believe that new, flashy, and unique are the characteristics that make any new product “good”. However at the same time I primarily enjoy speculative fiction that draws upon the classic elements of the genre. When I read a book of speculative fiction, it matters far less to me if it revolutionizes the genre of young adult fiction than if it provides a new perspective on a framework provided by the classics. Classics are considered good for a reason, and an attempt to be too daring often reads to me as a good attempt, but can get lost in its own aspirations.

In speculative fiction there are clear expectations of what a book should cover. When I think of what I like about science fiction, the essential themes of War of the Worlds or anything I’ve read by Isaac Asimov pop into my head. When I think of high fantasy, Tolkien’s work stands tall. These classic works serve as beacons to my expectations, informing me of what I want and do not want in my readings. When I am looking to read science fiction, I want a story that imagines a world hugely different than our own because of scientific advances, with a heavy focus on the long term implications of those actions à la Asimov. When I read fantasy, I hope to see a different world with elements of magic, different races, and an epic storyline contrasting good and evil.

I have found in this class that personally I don’t much enjoy speculative fiction that treads to far from this path. Specifically we spent a lot of time reading science fiction that ranged James Tiptree Jr’s “The Last Flight of Dr. Ain” to Pat Cadigan’s “Pretty Boy Crossover”. Of the various short stories, some tried harder than others to be novel. These invariably tried to drastically change the paradigm of science fiction, for example the cyberpunk genre attempted to make the tone all of a sudden dark, and the work of H.P. Lovecraft just struck me as weird. Time and time again the stories I found myself enjoying most within science fiction were those that stuck to the “classic” script of examining the impacts of scientific change.

That is not to say there is no place for changes. One of the best books I read all semester was Stardust by Neil Gaiman. Rather than following exactly the Monomythic plot that I was anticipating, based on my understanding of Fantasy and the Hero’s journey to that point, Stardust played upon expectations by focusing the majority of the plot on the return journey from completing the main character’s epic quest. Rather than being too revolutionary, it was a nice work of fantasy literature that I vastly enjoyed.

To me this emphasizes what the role of the classics is. When I am deciding what to read, they serve as a form of guidepost, indicating what I should expect in the genres they represent. When I elect what to read, I use what I have read in the past as a way to inform my future purchases, while authors use what they have read in the past to help them improve their craft. In a way this is how genres are born, with readers deciding they want more of “that” and authors only too willing to provide. So therefore, in some sense classics serve as foundational texts for whatever genre they represent. I may not like Lovecraft, nor think it is classic speculative fiction, but there are those who see it as the foundational text of horror sf.

Because what is and is not “classic” is a very subjective decision, I as the reader interpret it to myself. Apparently over my years of reading experience, this has come to mean that I interpret classic to mean a combination of things that are somewhat old, that I happen to like. I doubt I am alone in this. From this, I, and many other young readers determine what else we would like to read. It is the old version of the Amazon suggestion algorithms. “Oh you think _____ is classic? Try this similar version of it that incorporates what you like with a new twist!” Because of what is considered classic, I can discover what I like to read.