I find that in today’s circle of Christian fiction there is a hard balance to find between necessary details and inappropriate intensity. By this, I am specifically referring to creating a romantic plot-line or developing an antagonist. Romance may need to be more than the cliche “side hug,” and certainly a king of the underworld would not have spotless language. But how do you deal with that? How much is “too much”? What is black and white in the gray area of plot development?
This has been on my mind recently, ever since I read Francine Rivers’ new book The Masterpiece. It was a masterpiece all right – a masterpiece of sexual tension and uncomfortably detailed scenes (over and over again). We are subjected to the extreme physical attraction both characters have towards each other. In addition, Roman (the main male character, who is unsaved for most of the book) continues to “swear.” Even though you are never told exactly what he says, you are reminded time and time again that he swears.
We may be living in the age of information, but it seems that all it has done is drain and deplete our ability to grow a rich vocabulary. Instead, we sit back and enjoy plot-lines that used to shock us.
As a reader, I quite frankly did not appreciate it. I know that certain dynamics are sometimes necessary to the plot-line of the book, but we have lost the decorum and art of crafting a story using compelling vocabulary not colorful details. Les Miserables is an excellent example. This story takes you on a masterful journey, and Victor Hugo introduces you to many characters (quite a few of which have checkered pasts). However, it is masterfully told and you, as the reader, are given just what you need to know. The last is left up to you to decipher and imagine. You understand that Fantine has been driven to prostitution without any sordid scenes.
What was once shockable, became thinkable, and is now writeable and readable. What was once confined to a dime-novel (not fit to be seen in a Christian home) is now published under the Christian genre. We have been dumbed down as a culture and as a society, and we are now walking a very fine line through a very gray area. Students who grow up reading textbooks full of short and shallow sentences and CliffNotes versions of literature chosen for their “shock factor,” simply grow into readers who must still be spoon fed their graphic reading material even as adults. Modern readers are now content to read paperback novels that demand little to no brain activity, instead of intellectually challenging (but infinitely more rewarding) literature. We may be living in the age of information, but it seems that all it has done is drain and deplete our ability to grow a rich vocabulary. Instead, we sit back and enjoy plot-lines that used to shock us.
You may read Francine Rivers’ new book The Masterpiece and you may enjoy it. You will find no judgement here. And, no, I am not suggesting that you must remove all modern fiction from your shelf and read Elsie Dinsmore all day. I absolutely love a lot of modern Christian fiction! It is fun to have something lighter to read when I’m trying to relax. But I do think that we as Christian readers and writers must seriously consider what we are putting before our eyes – what we are allowing to enter our minds. This is not “just a book.” This is a worldview. This is a lifestyle. Where do the details make your mind wander?
I do think that we as Christian readers and writers must seriously consider what we are putting before our eyes, what we are allowing to enter our minds. This is not “just a book.” This is a worldview. This is a lifestyle.
I simply found The Masterpiece to be a sobering reminder that we are now content to read and endorse what used to shock us.