Mr. Tea
Let's Talk About Ceps
I thought that was an umbrella term for any fiction not set in the 'real world' as such, so it could include supernatural horror, sci-fi, fantasy, alternative history, magic realism...
Slipstream (genre of literature)
- Thread starter IdleRich
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IdleRich
IdleRich
This guy seems like a pretty good example https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tommaso_Landolfi - I read his short story collection including Cancerqueen several years ago. I was hoping to get more examples along this line
Timewriter
Active member
Well, we could debate such terminology til the cows come home, some labels being both 'open' and interchangeable.
Mr. Tea
Let's Talk About Ceps
Speculative fiction - Wikipedia
So slipstream is definitely meant to be something a bit more specific than this - it definitely doesn't include Harry Potter, Star Wars or the Marvel universe - even if its elements are nonetheless still pretty nebulous.
you
Well-known member
"This genre is not category SF; it is not even "genre" SF. Instead, it is a contemporary kind of writing which has its face against consensus reality. It is fantastic, surreal sometimes, speculative on occasion, but not rigorously so. It does not aim to provoke a "sense of wonder" or to systematically extrapolate in the manner of classic science fiction.
Instead, this is a kind of writing which simply makes you feel very strange; the way that living in the late twentieth century makes you feel very strange; the way that living in the late twentieth century makes you feel, if you are a person of a certain sensibility. We could call this kind of fiction Novels of a Postmodern Sensibility...for the sake of convenience and argument, we will call these books "slipstream."" - Bruce Sterling
Sterling's list isn't helpful at all - I don't think the question of 'examples of 'slipstream' books' is helpful either but, yet,.... Nonetheless, I can't help but read Sterling's lines and recall M. John Harrison, Nina Allan, Joel Lane, Aickman, Ligotti.... these porous horrors or 'strange' fictions (some often called weird fiction, which I contest as Ligotti and Lane have vastly unthinkable vistas on offer beyond that crafty misanthrope).
Perhaps talking about particular titles would be a good thing. For example, I can't help but notice Iain Bank's The Wasp Factory - which has dated like a peach in the sun and is simplistic and problematic when revisiting today. Which titles no longer make one feel strange? What contemporary titles might one add to this list?
Instead, this is a kind of writing which simply makes you feel very strange; the way that living in the late twentieth century makes you feel very strange; the way that living in the late twentieth century makes you feel, if you are a person of a certain sensibility. We could call this kind of fiction Novels of a Postmodern Sensibility...for the sake of convenience and argument, we will call these books "slipstream."" - Bruce Sterling
Sterling's list isn't helpful at all - I don't think the question of 'examples of 'slipstream' books' is helpful either but, yet,.... Nonetheless, I can't help but read Sterling's lines and recall M. John Harrison, Nina Allan, Joel Lane, Aickman, Ligotti.... these porous horrors or 'strange' fictions (some often called weird fiction, which I contest as Ligotti and Lane have vastly unthinkable vistas on offer beyond that crafty misanthrope).
Perhaps talking about particular titles would be a good thing. For example, I can't help but notice Iain Bank's The Wasp Factory - which has dated like a peach in the sun and is simplistic and problematic when revisiting today. Which titles no longer make one feel strange? What contemporary titles might one add to this list?
woops
is not like other people
i like all genres of literature i have very eclectic taste.
Mr. Tea
Let's Talk About Ceps
Like how you know you're in for a treat at a party when the stereo is left under the care of someone who likes "a bit of everything, really."
jenks
thread death
Just started Catherine Lacey’s Biography of X which I think probably fits into this genre - enjoying it so far
amp.theguardian.com
Also reading Player Piano by Vonnegut which also probably is ‘slipstreamy’
Biography of X by Catherine Lacey review – who is this mysterious artist? | Fiction | The Guardian
An impressive and enchantingly strange novel plays with genre, identity and politics in an alternate America
amp.theguardian.com
Also reading Player Piano by Vonnegut which also probably is ‘slipstreamy’
jenks
thread death
Never a bad thing to be reminded of poor old X and, by association, Pamela, both truly brilliant creations.
woops
is not like other people
entitled "the exquisite"
Clinamenic
Binary & Tweed
You could employ your new prosaic style to invent the sub genre of staccato snuff fiction.