REAL AND NOT REAL

whether a book is fiction or nonfiction is not interesting. what is useful to know is whether the book attempts to get at something real — YOU CAN'T GO HOME AGAIN; CRY, THE BELOVED COUNTRY; A PORTRAIT OF THE ARTIST AS A YOUNG MAN; THE PLAGUE; THE PICKUP — or whether it is not real — HARRY POTTER; STAR WARS; ALL THE LIGHT YOU CANNOT SEE, and many many others. that is what should be categorized and clearly labeled for the reading public, not because real is inherently better — many people gain much from fantasy and other suspensions of reality, much more than i do — but because it is a more useful distinction to make in identifying a work for a potential reader. it is the underlying, original intention of the author from which every aspect and experience of the book in the mind of the reader will derive.