11-25-2017, 07:36 AM
Period settings are a big part of the attraction to this genre for many of us.  But I've noticed that a few publishers seem to be (timidly) putting out what they're calling "Gothic" fiction (more romance -- or barely disguised erotica -- than suspense, from what I observe) while insisting on modern/current settings.  This seems misguided and backward to me -- or I should say personally problematic since many of the elements of a Gothic story that appeal to me are antithetical to the present time and world we live in (I want to escape the real world when I read for fun, not have it rubbed in my face). Â
A big part of this issue for me has to do with atmosphere: it's hard to generate the right mood and sense of mystery when the story takes place in a too-familiar and therefore pedestrian and unromantic world (though I try to be open-minded enough to accept that it can be done, at least in theory).  But contemporary Gothics also present a practical challenge for writers.  There are fewer and fewer places on earth where the heroine's cell phone can suddenly go dead because there isn't any coverage, preventing her from calling 911 -- and it's already a genre cliché for her phone to run out of juice at the critical moment when she's locked in the turret room because she forgot to recharge it . . . Authors must contort themselves into pretzels trying to avoid these hackneyed situations just to make the story mechanics of the traditional genre work in the present environment.  It can all be very tiresome for the reader.
So, yes -- I personally have a hard time relating to a "Gothic" story that takes place in a world of cell phones, strip malls, the internet, GPS, valley-speak, muffin-top jeans, and orange presidents.  Yet I can accept Gothics set as late as the '70s for some reason, perhaps because it was the last pre-digital era. Â
What do other readers think? Is a period setting a must for a Gothic? Or am I prejudiced? Can the genre be tweaked to work in a current setting without losing its identity and basic core defining qualities?
A big part of this issue for me has to do with atmosphere: it's hard to generate the right mood and sense of mystery when the story takes place in a too-familiar and therefore pedestrian and unromantic world (though I try to be open-minded enough to accept that it can be done, at least in theory).  But contemporary Gothics also present a practical challenge for writers.  There are fewer and fewer places on earth where the heroine's cell phone can suddenly go dead because there isn't any coverage, preventing her from calling 911 -- and it's already a genre cliché for her phone to run out of juice at the critical moment when she's locked in the turret room because she forgot to recharge it . . . Authors must contort themselves into pretzels trying to avoid these hackneyed situations just to make the story mechanics of the traditional genre work in the present environment.  It can all be very tiresome for the reader.
So, yes -- I personally have a hard time relating to a "Gothic" story that takes place in a world of cell phones, strip malls, the internet, GPS, valley-speak, muffin-top jeans, and orange presidents.  Yet I can accept Gothics set as late as the '70s for some reason, perhaps because it was the last pre-digital era. Â
What do other readers think? Is a period setting a must for a Gothic? Or am I prejudiced? Can the genre be tweaked to work in a current setting without losing its identity and basic core defining qualities?