Book Review: The Secret History of Science Fiction edited by James Patrick Kelly and John Kessel

The Secret History of Science Fiction, a new anthology aimed at questioning the existence of genre boundaries, could be a victim of the very issue it seeks to address. It uses the term "science fiction" in the title.

The anthology proceeds from an interesting premise. Thomas Pynchon's Gravity's Rainbow was nominated for the 1973 Nebula Award for Best Novel, given by the Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America. It didn't win. But then, the SFFWA treated Pynchon better than Pulitzer Prize officials. In 1974, the three-member fiction jury unanimously recommended the book receive the fiction award but the Pulitzer board vetoed the recommendation, calling the novel "unreadable," "turgid," "overwritten," and, in parts, "obscene."

Yet given that Gravity's Rainbow is viewed as a classic of postmodern literature, James Patrick Kelly and John Kessel ask what impact it winning the Nebula Award might have had on science fiction. Specifically, would that have eliminated the distinction between literary fiction ('li-fi") and science fiction ("sci-fi"), a distinction many, myself included, have led to unequal treatment of the two? Would they have merged into a literary universe that had no regard for genre as opposed to creating new labels, such as slipstream, as an accommodation? In making the case that genre labels should be meaningless, The Secret History of Science Fiction also demonstrates how pervasive they are.

No one should be surprised that an author like Margaret Atwood appears in the collection. After all, she's not only been successful with so-called mainstream fiction but with several novels she calls "speculative fiction." But there's also stories from Karen Joy Fowler, Jonathan Lethem, T.C. Boyle and Don DeLillo — yes, that Don DeLillo. In addition to each contributing a story, Kelly and Kessel compile previously published pieces by those most would consider science fiction writers, and those most would consider as part of mainstream literature.

Article Author: Tim Gebhart

Tim Gebhart lives in Sioux Falls, SD, where he practices law in order to provide shelter for his family, his dogs, and his books. He is a member of the National Book Critics Circle and his blog de guerre is A Progressive on the Prairie.

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