I was thrilled to get the chance to review V.E. Schwab’s new novel The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue for Chicago Review of Books — not just because I love Schwab’s work, which I do, but because it provided the perfect occasion to get some things off my chest about what I see as widespread genre snobbery in today’s book world. The intro:

I’m tempted to say the modern idea of genre is a joke, except that it’s not funny. A sincerely curious, skilled, and committed writer can basically write whatever she wants, genre be damned. Yet certain genres are still elevated and others dismissed; the New York Times “By the Book” feature still regularly asks writers “Which genres do you avoid?”

(Because it interrupted the review’s flow, my editor asked me to take out a snotty aside about a certain Very Famous Historical Fiction Author whose answer to that By the Book question insulted anyone who has ever written in any genre, including her own. Part of her response: “Choosing to write a genre novel is like fencing the universe because you are afraid of space.“ You can check that out here!)

You should definitely read Schwab’s book, and I promise that my review of it doesn’t give anything too major away: only that “Schwab is an author who understands the importance of both subverting and satisfying reader expectations” and “You can relax into your enjoyment of the story and trust that she knows what she’s doing, because she does.”

Read the full review here.