Literary Allergies

Admist all the media kerfuffle surrounding the posthumous David Foster Wallace book, Geoff Dyer has come out in hives: or rather he's admitted upfront his allergy to Wallace's writing. Its a nicely different take on the literary parlour game of what great books you have and haven't read; but it also struck a chord with this reader. There are some writers we know are good, some we know are bad, but there are some where it doesn't make a difference, as they bring us out in a rash.

As Dyer says, he even "likes" Wallace's writing, he just can't get on with it. Its interesting that Dyer says this, as I think he's a similarly rare food group. I've heard him read on a couple of occasions, and I've loved it, but trying to read his books, I start by enjoying his light, breezy style, his digressions, his authorial interruption, and then, I get annoyed by it. There's just too much Geoff Dyer in it, and my palate's not up to it.

But I think there are a couple of types of literary allergy. Dyer (as with Wallace for him) is in the "I like it, but can't stomach it" category - writing that's a little too rich, or too plain, or simply too "too", for our taste. And perhaps, like David Foster Wallace, Geoff Dyer is a writer who writes books which are almost guaranteed to bring out that reaction from some readers - they are books that are not easily pigeonholed. I might start reading expecting one thing, and then get another. One of these days I'll finish a Dyer book and can throw away my anti-histamines. On the other hand, other allergies are more severe. I get annoyed when I see the cover of the book; when I hear the writer's name; when I hear how brilliant they are. It's not just that I don't get it, it's that every time I try to get it (i.e. by reading them) I can feel the old panic attacks coming back. It's like they are written in a language that induces migraines. Beryl Bainbridge is one of these. She's a national treasure; she was the "best writer never to win the Booker"; she's loved by all and sundry; she wrote books on a range of subjects. Yes, yes, yes. But two pages in to "Master Georgie" or whatever, I'm in knots inside, my eyes are glassed over. Ali Smith's another one. I skipped pages of "Hotel World" in an attempt to get through it; I've even read a couple of her acclaimed short stories, and I've felt physical unwell at the end.

I noticed that when people started sharing their #literaryallergies on Twitter (thanks to the writer @sarahchurchwell) it was old dead writers like Trollope and Hardy; or bad experiences at school. There aren't, I think, allergies - some writers just aren't for you or there's a non-literary reason for liking them - but an allergic reaction is a personal one; books that you otherwise perhaps ought to like, and for one reason or another don't. Just accept it, and move on to the next author, there are plenty out there.