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consumption patterns of different cohorts of readers. Examining how non-
professionalreadersengageincriticismhas,untilrelativelyrecently,beenlargely
absent.
In this chapter, we examine vernacular criticism; specifically, book club
readers’ talk and responses toKateGrenville’s SarahThornhill.Vernacular lit-
erarycriticism isadiscourseof judgmenton theaesthetic, political, andethical
merits and faults of writing, books, storytelling, and authors that takes place
largely outside the education system, and other institutions crucial to what
WendyGriswoldcallsthe“readingclass”suchaspublishing.6Indeed,thisformof
criticismhas an ambivalent relationship to the education systemand the pub-
lishing industry.Vernacular criticism is thebook talkof those readerswhoare
imperfectly identified by terms like the ‘readingpublic’ and ‘general/ordinary/
lay/non-professionalreaders’. It is thekindof talkobservedinsitessuchasbook
clubsandonline readingcommunities.
Likeacademicliterarycriticism,vernacularliterarycriticismisaformofbook
talk thathasaesthetic,moral, andpoliticalvalence.Oneof its central features is
thatitmobilizesthereadinganddiscussionofbooksasacontextforreflectionon
everydaymorality andpolitics.AsMichaelD.Bristol explains, vernacular criti-
cism isnot simply“the interpretiveamateurism”ofdifferent classesof readers;
rather it“isanattempt[byordinaryreaders] to findanorientation inaspaceof
moral questions.”7 In the past, vernacular literary criticism has been cited in
overlooked,undocumented,orephemeralspaces: indiaries; insalons;at literary
festivals and other gatherings of readers; book clubs and reading groups; in
newslettersandletterstoeditors;andintheconversationsof individualswithno
formalinterestsintheindustriesofcriticismortheproductionof literatureother
than through their statusas consumers andmembersof the readingclass.
Wecancompareandcontrast thevernacularcriticismofbookclubswiththat
of the literary studies classroom. Vernacular criticism takes place outside the
academy, is values-driven, and tends towards ‘open’ discussions that invite
disagreementanddissensus. It ispersonalandtentative. It isa formofcriticism
that values playfulness, and is explicitly dialogical and context-specific. On
matters of form, vernacular criticism focuses heavily on characterization and
plot, andamongstother things, actively supports reader-identificationwith the
text throughpersonal reminiscence andanalogical analysiswith contemporary
eventsandsituations.Thebookprovidesacontext forconversation/conviviality
andthe text is takenat facevalue—asElizabethLongputs it, readersassumean
ontological equivalence between fictional characters and situations and real
people andevents.
6 Griswold2008.
7 Bristol2000,p. 91.
ReadingFiction,TalkingReconciliation 233
Open-Access-Publikation im Sinne der CC-Lizenz BY 4.0
Über Bücher reden
Literaturrezeption in Lesegemeinschaften
- Title
- Über Bücher reden
- Subtitle
- Literaturrezeption in Lesegemeinschaften
- Author
- Doris Moser
- Editor
- Claudia Dürr
- Publisher
- V&R unipress
- Date
- 2021
- Language
- German
- License
- CC BY 4.0
- ISBN
- 978-3-7370-1323-9
- Size
- 15.5 x 23.2 cm
- Pages
- 262
- Category
- Lehrbücher