This all started with a(nother) conversation about Sally Rooney.
Listen, I am not condemning her writing in any way, but personally, I have never been able to connect with her characters. I barely made it through “Normal People”, had to skip to the end of “Conversations with Friends” and I haven’t bothered with anything since.
Touted as the first great Millennial writer, Sally Rooney has a well-deserved and passionate following, but her flat, muted style offers me no point of access. The lack of interiority—that is, scant description of the character’s emotional life—locks me out of the narrative every time.
If you, Main Character, don’t care about the decisions you’re making, then why should I? You want to be narcissistic and self-destructive? That’s okay! But can I get a little glimpse into the why? And if at the end, MC, you haven’t evolved in your thinking or actions, then why did I read this novel? I need something or someone to root for.
At least Lena Dunham gave me Shoshanna!
I reckon that a lot of this boils down to a generational thing.*
I was born in the early 70s and like other Gen X kids, I developed a rich interior life early. Because there was no Internet to distract me from my thoughts, I learned to sit with those thoughts, relying on my senses and observations to show me the way through. My world was limited to my neighbourhood, the newspapers that came into the house, the library and my extended Italian community. Until I could afford the record store, music happened mostly on the radio. Popular TV shows came on once a week, but my older brother didn’t like the same shows, so I watched more Star Trek than I would have liked.
And because we didn’t have helicopter parents, no one was tending to our feelings or worrying about our self-esteem. Most of us had to build problem-solving skills early, learn to read situations quickly, and figure out how to self-soothe while still struggling with tying our shoelaces.
We always had the find the answers on our own, and we continue to do so, good or bad. Today, most of us are still self-directed, confident in who we are and way too busy doing to engage in a lot of showing. Notice how you don’t see many Gen X influencers.
When I look at my Millennial friends, I see the shift. As the first generation of digital natives, they were able to explore the world, practically in real time, without leaving the house. I marvel at how they use shared cultural moments, media and vocabulary to express who they are and their ideas, to connect with the world around them. Tattoos telegraph personalities before lips have parted. Their interactions a string of references, in-jokes and musical tastes that they leverage to constantly communicate this is who I am.
Millennials absolutely have interiority, but so much of their development seems to have hinged on projecting outwards, taking bold action and sharing what makes them unique. They experienced and learned how to channel their emotions differently, the way they consumed and disseminated culture is so different too—and that perhaps explains why Rooney’s writing resonates with them. She speaks to a generation that is more vocal and visual, rather than my more deeply reflective peers who are eager to meet other seekers on the path.
So yeah, I like a novel that balances action with interiority, that gives me insight into who this main character is and why they make certain choices, allowing my awareness and empathy to expand as I take the information in. I am able to read and enjoy other Millennial writers, but when that interiority is lacking, I just can’t connect with the story.
What compounds all this is our “unprecedented times”, in which the social compact is breaking down, empathy is at an all-time low and fascism is making a fashionable comeback. Now more than ever, I don’t want to read about passivity and disconnect. I want to read deeply human stories that remind me of our shared humanity, and that offer glimmers of hope.
How much interiority do you like in your stories?
*I am using generational labels to establish a baseline for my thoughts; that said, I am absolutely aware that not everyone fits into the generational stereotype, so please take this post for what it is — observations and my perception of said observations.
Next on the reading pile
