Genre-Hybridization – a Key to Hyper-Bestsellers?
The majority of the novels that during the first decade of the 2000s became hyper-bestsellers share one thing in common: They tend to be genre-hybrids, mixing several different, often popular, fiction genres. This is true for Harry Potter, The Da Vinci Code, Twilight, and a number of other hyper-bes...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | Danish |
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Aalborg University Open Publishing
2013-12-01
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| Series: | Akademisk Kvarter |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | https://journals.aau.dk/index.php/ak/article/view/2823 |
| _version_ | 1827297559877517312 |
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| author | Kerstin Bergman |
| author_facet | Kerstin Bergman |
| author_sort | Kerstin Bergman |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | The majority of the novels that during the first decade of the 2000s became hyper-bestsellers share one thing in common: They tend to be genre-hybrids, mixing several different, often popular, fiction genres. This is true for Harry Potter, The Da Vinci Code, Twilight, and a number of other hyper-bestseller phenomena of recent years. The thesis of this article is that genre-hybridity is a fundamental feature that contributes to a novel’s success by causing it to attract a larger and more diverse audience, and in so doing makes it stand out from most “regular” bestsellers.
In this article, the concept of the hyper-bestseller is introduced and outlined, followed by a comparative analysis of the use of different fiction genres and sub-genres in two of the most successful hyper-bestsellers of recent times, both of which exhibit strong links with the crime fiction tradition: Dan Brown’s The Da Vinci Code and Stieg Larsson’s The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo. The two novels are found to share many genre-related features, in particular, their dynamic detective duos, feminist agendas, anti-authoritarian attitudes, political criticism, exoticism, and religious elements. A majority of the shared genre conventions are also found to enable a strong sense of reader identification with the detective characters.
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| first_indexed | 2024-04-24T14:58:25Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-148f9d1e3d0d4cbe842933003a9dd8f4 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 1904-0008 |
| language | Danish |
| last_indexed | 2024-04-24T14:58:25Z |
| publishDate | 2013-12-01 |
| publisher | Aalborg University Open Publishing |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Akademisk Kvarter |
| spelling | doaj.art-148f9d1e3d0d4cbe842933003a9dd8f42024-04-02T16:37:57ZdanAalborg University Open PublishingAkademisk Kvarter1904-00082013-12-01710.5278/ojs.academicquarter.v0i7.2823Genre-Hybridization – a Key to Hyper-Bestsellers?Kerstin BergmanThe majority of the novels that during the first decade of the 2000s became hyper-bestsellers share one thing in common: They tend to be genre-hybrids, mixing several different, often popular, fiction genres. This is true for Harry Potter, The Da Vinci Code, Twilight, and a number of other hyper-bestseller phenomena of recent years. The thesis of this article is that genre-hybridity is a fundamental feature that contributes to a novel’s success by causing it to attract a larger and more diverse audience, and in so doing makes it stand out from most “regular” bestsellers. In this article, the concept of the hyper-bestseller is introduced and outlined, followed by a comparative analysis of the use of different fiction genres and sub-genres in two of the most successful hyper-bestsellers of recent times, both of which exhibit strong links with the crime fiction tradition: Dan Brown’s The Da Vinci Code and Stieg Larsson’s The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo. The two novels are found to share many genre-related features, in particular, their dynamic detective duos, feminist agendas, anti-authoritarian attitudes, political criticism, exoticism, and religious elements. A majority of the shared genre conventions are also found to enable a strong sense of reader identification with the detective characters. https://journals.aau.dk/index.php/ak/article/view/2823hyper-bestseller, genre, genre-hybridity, crime fiction, Dan Brown, Stieg Larsson |
| spellingShingle | Kerstin Bergman Genre-Hybridization – a Key to Hyper-Bestsellers? Akademisk Kvarter hyper-bestseller, genre, genre-hybridity, crime fiction, Dan Brown, Stieg Larsson |
| title | Genre-Hybridization – a Key to Hyper-Bestsellers? |
| title_full | Genre-Hybridization – a Key to Hyper-Bestsellers? |
| title_fullStr | Genre-Hybridization – a Key to Hyper-Bestsellers? |
| title_full_unstemmed | Genre-Hybridization – a Key to Hyper-Bestsellers? |
| title_short | Genre-Hybridization – a Key to Hyper-Bestsellers? |
| title_sort | genre hybridization a key to hyper bestsellers |
| topic | hyper-bestseller, genre, genre-hybridity, crime fiction, Dan Brown, Stieg Larsson |
| url | https://journals.aau.dk/index.php/ak/article/view/2823 |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT kerstinbergman genrehybridizationakeytohyperbestsellers |