Suite101 recently talked to author Jesse Bullington about structuring his first novel and his views on violence in fantasy writing.
Do you think that The Brothers will inevitably be classified as 'horror' because if the violent content? Contextually, historically, it seems perfectly legitimate.
That’s something I’ve wondered about, leaving aside the whole problem of classifying works that contain myriad different elements. Horror is meant to be frightening and this novel isn’t, at least not in the same way that most contemporary horror novels are intended to be. On the other hand, I adore horror, grew up nursing on its ghoulish teat, and my bloody roots are showing all over the place in terms of violence and monsters and villains. If the exact same story was told differently it certainly would be a horror novel, but as it is I think it’ll dodge that particular classification, if only because at some point in the text someone in armour wields a sword, and we all know that cinches it as “fantasy” no matter what else is going on in there.
Part of what I was attempting with the novel was to put the adventure and fantasy I loved growing up into a more realistic framework and that meant way more than just setting, though a less ridiculous Europe than that of C. L. Moore and Clark Ashton Smith and the Middle East of William Beckford and Robert E. Howard was the first step. The violence in these stores was almost always glossed over, even when it was reveled in by authors such as Howard.
Now, that sounds contradictory but what I’m driving at is that even when Howard’s übermenschen were hewing their enemies apart by the score with blood splashing and severed limbs tumbling, it never went much beyond that—violence as something that passes in a mere sentence or paragraph, as opposed to haunting the characters forever. Of course, it depends on the character, and while plenty of things haunt the Grossbarts remorse isn’t one of them.
You’re dead on that contextually and historically the violence in the novel is less shocking, more out in the open—or, to a modern reader, perhaps more shocking because it is out in the open. It is interesting that by going after realism in regards to violence—and other messy unavoidables of being a living creature—the novel has been criticised as being over-the-top or wallowing in filth, which does prove the point that for some contemporary readers glossing over unpleasantness should be a given.
Considering that violence in the era in which the novel takes place was not easily remedied by a trip to the ER you see period sources often taking a humorous and graphic approach to violence, which is a very human reaction to things that frighten us—drag them out into the light of day and mock them, make them silly. The Brothers Grossbart view violence in a similar fashion to a lot of their literary predecessors and historical contemporaries—something that needs doing both in terms of spiritual and physical preservation, and depending on the circumstance, an endeavour that can be a bit of fun.
One thing I’m trying to do differently is to avoid glossing over the violence regardless of the characters views on it, and thereby prevent the reader from wriggling off the hook as the protagonists inflict horrific violence on innocents and monsters alike. Regardless of how lightly, or comically, even, the violence is treated by the characters in the novel, the reader will not be able to avoid the reality of violence and have to work it out for themselves.
This gets us back to your question about violence being tied to horror, but I think a lot of writers are increasing the grittiness of their fantastical works, which is making graphic violence more common, if still horrific, and therefore less likely to relegate a work to the horror section.
You've mentioned that the novel can be seen as a wrestle with your own lowbrow/highbrow sensibilities. How does this influence your viewpoints as a university graduate on the meaning and worth of fiction, in particular, on works of the fantastic?
When I talk about lowbrow elements and sensibilities I am decidedly talking about the bathroom humour and some rather unforgivable pun and not the fantastical elements. I think each work of fiction must be evaluated by the individual reader—worth, beyond a personal level, is not something that can be established where fiction is concerned, or anywhere else, for that matter. Dismissing works of fiction without reading them is something we all do from time to time, but it’s a lousy habit to fall into.
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