I have looked for good books about middle-age, but 95% of them seem to be frothy upgrades of young adulthood. At our age, we’re in new territory. We need to know about things like:
- Are you braver now or more frightened?
- How are you different from when you were younger, and is that a good or a bad thing?
- What would you still like to learn?
- What ass-kicking talent or strength have you finally mastered?
- Is there anything you’ve given up on achieving? What made you decide that, and are you okay with it?
- Have you discovered anything about your life that you were doing wrong for, oh, say the last 30 years, and now that you know, you’ve decided to change it?
Because I’m hungry for Boomer Lit or Midlife Lit (fiction), I put together a pageful of recommendations here. Just go to Photos>Albums>Midlife Fiction. I don’t include books that simply have older characters in them, who act like everybody else (or worse, act like they’re trying to be young again.) I include them if the older characters illuminate the experience of aging. Ditto I do not include books that are almost entirely flashbacks to the first “coming of age” or young adult phase. I want the second coming-of-age. The older adult phase.
I also found a blog post by a writer named Latham Shinder, and he put it into words for me:
“Some critics have called the genre chick lit for the senior crowd….But boomer lit doesn’t have to be about…getting the guy, makeovers, (or) suburban shopping sprees…
“In other words, Boomer lit doesn’t have to be shallow. The best boomer lit is about the human condition-human emotions, values and beliefs. It’s about the search for meaning. The same search for meaning that literary fiction has been struggling with for decades…
“If you could simplify any great boomer lit novel to a single theme or controlling idea, it’s this: self assessment. Boomer lit is the mature version of the coming of age novel. It’s about taking a good hard look at your life, sifting through the hay stack of forty years of “issues” and “opportunities” (Boomer code words for screw-ups and bigger screw ups), and deciding where to go from here.”
Lynne again. That last paragraph? That’s what my novel, Dakota Blues, is about. It’s a coming-of-age novel about a woman who turns fifty and realizes she’s been sleepwalking. Now that she knows, what’s she going to do about it? That’s the story. I loved writing it, and I think you’ll enjoy reading it.
Lynne, I agree with you on the need for more thoughtful and insightful literature for the boomer army of readers. I also love how you express your thoughts so well and so succinctly. I am eager to read Dakota Blues – where can I find it? I have little time for reading lately, but intend to do nothing but once I retire! Well, that and sky dive and learn how to fly, etc.!! My appearance might scream “elderly” but my mind and heart say otherwise.
Hey, Leslie, so good to hear from you! Elderly is a state of mind that I associate with lack and decline, and I could never see you that way! My book isn’t available yet but when it is, you can bet I will be shouting from the rooftops, so loudly you’ll hear me at your house. Thanks for commenting. I hope you’ll weigh in frequently.
Water for Elephants is about a man, but is a fascinating tale of a life and a soul’s passion for independence. I am reminded of this work as I spoke to a young colleague whose mother lives on her property. The young woman is pleased that she can look after her mom, who she worries about. After all, she is single and 61…………………………………………….. spare me from being looked after.
It’s so funny how the kids get when they see us turn “old”! You don’t know whether to be annoyed or amused. Oh, hell, take the candy. Let ’em carry your bags. My mom and I laugh about her playing the “grandma card” because she’s 85. She gets away with murder! PS I loved Water for Elephants, too.
Oops, I was logged in as my mom, Marie, just then!
Hey Lynne. I really enjoy your blog. Where are you in the query process? Or are you already past that? =)
Hey, Nanc! Also by Strout, Abide with Me; The Leisure Seeker by Michael Zadoorian; Every Last One by Anna Quindlen; Gilead by Marilynne Robinson; Ellen Foster by Kay Gibbons – only a couple are about an older woman/lost way/redemption but all are great reads about coming to terms with life in a positive way. I think I’m going to start a reading list of books for smart, middle-aged women. Any suggestions?
On that theme…I loved Olive Kittredge… a book about an older woman who had lost her way and the redemption possible. Any other recommended reading?
I agree, Lynne! Too many novels have a cute, twenty-something heroine up to her eyeballs in twenty-something problems. Give us some more forty-plus women we can look up to, women who can escort us through the travails of “middle age” with grace and courage!