Adventure, Mystery, and Romance: Formula Stories as Art and Popular Culture (Phoenix Series)

This fascinating, engaging, and insightful book examines "formulaic" genres of literature. The early chapters focus on the generalized readers' experience -- the appeal of works of fiction that provide a seemingly paradoxical combination of pleasures: on the one hand an adventure-filled escape from mundane everyday life, and on the other hand the security and comfort of a familiar structure and a predictable outcome. In his introduction, Cawelti charmingly compares the experience to that of a young child's bedtime story:"As children we learn new things about the world and ourselves from stories. By hearing about creatures and events that transcend the limits of space and time allotted to us we widen the range of our imagination and are prepared to deal with new situations and experiences. But children also clutch at the security of the familiar. How often a child rejects a new story, preferring to hear one he has already been told a hundred times. And as he hears again the often-heard, his eyes glaze over with pleasure, his body relaxes, and, the story ends in peaceful slumber."Most of the book examines several formulaic genres in detail: The classic detective story, the hard-boiled detective story, the western, and "the best-selling social melodrama" (think Jacqueline Susann, etc.). In addition to taking an overall look at these genres, several authors and novels are analyzed in greater detail. Cawelti gives us insights into how a number of novels fit into their particular genre, into the world of literature in general, and into their contemporary culture. I found his examinations of Dashiell Hammett and Raymond Chandler particularly interesting, but all of the "analytic criticism" to be found in the book was cogent, informative, and just plain enjoyable reading.And indeed, this book as a whole should be enjoyable reading for anyone who's interested in formulaic genre fiction, or literature and fiction in general. Through the study of this branch of fiction, one can't help but be enlightened about all the rest of literature as well; after all, isn't literary fiction largely defined by what it is NOT -- by its avoidance of much of what genre fiction embraces?I would also recommend this book to any author who writes or is thinking of writing within the genres that Cawelti covers. In this book you'll find some remarkably clear analyses of the "formulas" of the formulaic genres -- what fans of the genre expect and what it is about the genre that they find appealing. Cawelti compares the author of formulaic fiction to the cast and director of a new production of a familiar play; a certain degree of creativity and originality is expected, but a writer who violates certain key elements of the formula is likely to disappoint his/her target audience as much as a director who decides to rewrite Oscar Wilde's dialog.So in sum, if anyone has ever asked you "Why do you read that trash?", here's a book you can proudly throw at them -- literally, if you like. For another excellent and equally throwable book on this subject, see  An Aesthetics of Junk Fiction  by Thomas J. Roberts .

This text has a frustrating tendency toward baseless speculation and generalization, yet does a lot of excellent work in probing popular literary forms. The conclusion especially demonstrates a foresight that remains lacking in many studies today. A worthwhile read, even if dated.

Cawalti shows how history, myth, and legend are represented in literary genres. He starts with a typology of literary formulas (adventure, romance, mystery, melodrama, aliens). He then deals specifically with crimeinal/detective stories and western.I am using this in course preparation on western movies.

I was required to use this book for my films class. Published in 1977, It is too old and out of date to be used as a textbook. Being old doesn't necessarily mean that the historical facts are wrong, but the way that the material is presented is not conducive for learning because it cannot connect to or engage the contemporary reader. The references it makes are out of date and have little or nothing that a contemporary reader can relate to, so that the references become useless. The book is poorly written. It is dry, monotonous and redundant. It seems to ramble, stringing the reader along as he/she waits for a nugget of relevant knowledge. It talks just as much about what a formula or genera is not as it talks about what the formula or genera is, so that it is confusing and the reader is continuously waiting for the text to get to the point. It is often far to specific, focusing on one book or movie, to give notion of what the genera or formula is outside of the given example. I have read many text books for many different types of courses and this is by far the worst book I have had to read/study. It is more frustrating than informational. Please instructors, find a different book as a class resource!

Perfect book for class I needed.

I recommended this book to a student yesterday and I was very surprised to see that it had not yet been reviewed on Amazon.com. The book is an absolute classic--the beginning point for any serious study of category fiction. As the title implies, the book covers mysteries, westerns, romances, social melodramas--the full spectrum of genre writing. It does so in ways that are both historical and theoretical and it does so for a wide audience. Academics have used this book for a generation and general readers will find it fascinating, accessible, thoughtful and enjoyable. What are the roots of genre fiction? Why do we read it? Who are its most successful practitioners? How do we differentiate among various forms, including cozies and American noir? This is the place to start. It is both 'introductory' and magisterial. Very highly recommended.

Good book for its day...but that was decades ago.