Books aren't on the decline, but the giants aren't bringing home the bacon anymore. Philip Roth's latest is a winner, but other than that, the fields are barren.
New Yorker darling T.C. Boyle's latest is negligible. Alice Walker, once soulful, should be stopped. Quiet successes like William Trevor's collection of stories and Ha Jin's prisoner-of-war narrative are of note, but going under the community radar.
The new secret with literature lies in the return of patronage. It's no longer the all-stars who are hot, it's who they're blurbing.
Take Margaret Atwood. Her last, "Oryx and Crake," was a dystopian muddle, well-meaning but ill-conceived. It was a departure in form for the award-winning Canuck.
This year, she's thrown her support behind long-underrated Turkish writer Orhan Pamuk.
Pamuk's latest, "Snow," is one of the finest novels of the year. His previous efforts have been worthy, but Times Notable doesn't equate to publicly noted. With the support of a literary mainstay, however lagging, he can finally achieve a higher degree of success.
But it's not a success story without obstacles. Sometimes, the megasellers go on the offensive.
They've now gotten cooperative for new ventures, such as "Left Behind" author Tim LaHayne's woeful new series or the memoir "Truth & Beauty," teaming book club favorite Ann Patchett with chart-topper Lucy Grealy.
The tides, however, are turning.
Barbara Kingsolver, who has stuck to publishing essays in the wake of her erotic moth tale "Prodigal Summer," threw her support behind Alaskan first-timer Seth Kantner.
As well she should. "Ordinary Wolves" is no "Bel Canto." It's good.
The rise of this literary patronage is slowly becoming a bona fide trend, as critical reception and underground buzz switches from the prolific talents to the promising newcomers. The public market, though, might not yet be ready for it.
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The climate is overly political, and the releases follow suit.Capitalizing on the polarized, high-interest sector, mightier-than-thou pundits flood the market with laughable efforts.
Name recognition is key, and a rushed or subpar effort by a famous talking head will inherently turn more heads than a meritous work by an underappreciated writer. Ann Coulter mindlessly sparks ire, but on the page, Al Franken's watch-me rebuttals are just as big a waste of an intelligent reader's time.
For a good time, and a good indicator of where the dominant trend should go, just look at what Neil Gaiman's doing. His "1602" graphic novel series might have been questionable, but his most glowing blurb of the year went to Susannah Clarke.
Her "Jonathan Strange & Mr. Norell" isn't only a bestseller, it's fresh to boot. Chart-toppers and prize-winners aren't on the cutting edge anymore - it's the underlings' time to rise.
It's an epidemic: The buzz books nowadays aren't worth their salt, and stalwarts are falling short.
So, rather than taking a chance on a testy new work by a household name, look for their stamp of approval on another dust jacket.
Ironic, yes, given the success of the worthless television show "The Apprentice," but literature's new class can thank their forerunners while surpassing them.
Contact the A&E Editor at artsdesk@unc.edu.
