Yesterday I met a lady who’d just been laid off from her corporate job. We talked about the ecosystem of fear that’s swirling for a lot of employees right now, how nothing seems particularly stable, and how to successfully avoid despair (or indifference) in the face of Big Problems.
A small but meaningful part of anti-despair work, for me and a lot of folks I know, is to up my intake of escapist media. Whether it’s video games, shows, ttrpgs, immersive fiction, or a carefully curated social media feed, we find ways to disconnect from the overwhelming stuff and feed our need for something positive.
Personally, I seek out hopeful fiction. For me, reading is one of the best ways to mentally “reset.” And when I’m looking to feed hopefulness, I find what I need in fiction.
Lately I’ve been thanking the universe for a genre-in-translation that’s made its way to U.S. bookshelves: healing fiction. It’s adjacent to cozy fantasy – healing fiction sometimes incorporates magical realism – and literary fiction – it’s often written in “day in the life” style.
We get this as a standalone genre (mostly via translated books) from Korea and Japan. There aren’t many “healing fiction” or “K-healing” books written by U.S. authors – yet.
I think a lot of that has to do with the way publishing works in the States (and UK). Healing fiction plots don’t follow the Joseph Conrad, three-act, hero quest, every-chapter-ends-on-a-cliffhanger progression, which makes it a hard sell for U.S. publishers.
Instead, healing fiction progresses like a stream. It’s moving, things are happening, but there are no dire straits, no massive conflicts. There’s also (generally) a central message of “everything’s going to be okay.” Which, you know, isn’t really a favored thematic stance for U.S. publishing. They like suspense.
So, even though there are plenty of books written by English-speaking authors that would fit into the healing fiction genre, right now we’re still getting “healing fiction” marketed only as books in translation (and then having average readers go “actually, this book by an English author is very similar…”)
I’ve read a few healing fiction books in translation and a few Anglophile books I’d consider healing fiction. I’m a fan of the genre and hope to see more on the “new additions” shelf of my local library.
Of course, this is just one way to read my way through Unprecedented Times™ – I have friends who double down on steamy adventures, cozy mysteries, far-out sci-fi, and more. Hopefully we can all find media that soothes our souls and gives us hope.