--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Anything that doesn't fit this mode has…" description: "\"“Anything that doesn't fit this mode has been shoved into an area of lesser solemnity called 'genre fiction,' and it is here that the spy thriller and ..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/68c/margaret-atwood-40_adventure_anything-that-doesn-t-fit-this-mode-has_761287.jpg" --- # Anything that doesn't fit this mode has been shoved into… ![“Anything that doesn't fit this mode has been shoved into an area of lesser solemnity called 'genre fiction,' and it is here that the spy thriller and the crime story and the adventure story and the supernatural tale and the science fiction, however excellently written, must reside, sent to their…” quote by Margaret Atwood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/68c/margaret-atwood-40_adventure_anything-that-doesn-t-fit-this-mode-has_761287.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/68c/margaret-atwood-40_adventure_anything-that-doesn-t-fit-this-mode-has_761287.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/68c/margaret-atwood-40_adventure_anything-that-doesn-t-fit-this-mode-has_761287.jpg) > ““Anything that doesn't fit this mode has been shoved into an area of lesser solemnity called 'genre fiction,' and it is here that the spy thriller and the crime story and the adventure story and the supernatural tale and the science fiction, however excellently written, must reside, sent to their rooms, as it were, for the misdemeanor of being enjoyable in what is considered a meretricious way. They invent, and we all know they invent, at least up to a point, and they are, therefore, not about 'real life,' which ought to lack coincidences and weirdness and action-adventure, unless the adventure story is about war, of course, where anything goes, and they are, therefore, not solid.”” [Margaret Atwood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-atwood/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The author argues that genre fiction is dismissed as less serious, relegated to a lower literary status because it is enjoyable and imaginative, not strictly realistic. **In simple terms:** Genre fiction is seen as less serious because it’s fun and imaginative. Key Takeaway Recognize and value the merit of genre storytelling. Themes literary hierarchy genre bias fictional merit artistic value Mood reflective critical inquisitive Type analytical philosophical When to use this quote - book clubs - writing workshops - publishing decisions - academic curricula - reader expectations Key Concepts genre fiction literary criticism cultural perception Questions to Reflect On - What makes a story “literary”? - How does enjoyment affect perceived seriousness? A Different Perspective Some readers find genre fiction offers profound insights despite its entertainment focus. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Adventure](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/adventure/) [Called Genre](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/called-genre-5903325/) [Fiction](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/fiction/) [Fiction Spy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/fiction-spy-5903326/) [Genre](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/genre/) [Genre Fiction](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/genre-fiction-412883/) [Nonfiction](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/nonfiction/) [Real life](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/real-life/) [Science](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/science/) [Science fiction](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/science-fiction/) [Storytelling](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/storytelling/) ## Related quotes > [I like to take certain aspects of genre fiction and modify them in my own way. 'Your Republic Is Calling You' follows the form…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kim-young-ha/i-like-to-take-certain-aspects-of-genre-fiction-and-modify-them-in-my/) [Kim Young-ha](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kim-young-ha/) > [Genre fiction was looked at as a ghetto, but I wonder now if realist fiction, sealing itself off in the glum suburbs of a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ursula-k-le-guin/genre-fiction-was-looked-at-as-a-ghetto-but-i-wonder-now-if-realist/) [Ursula K. Le Guin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ursula-k-le-guin/) > [A predilection for genre fiction is symptomatic of a kind of arrested development.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-m-disch/a-predilection-for-genre-fiction-is-symptomatic-of-a-kind-of-arrested/) [Thomas M. Disch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-m-disch/) > [“The genres, it is thought, have other designs on us. They want to entertain, as opposed to rubbing our noses in the daily grit…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-atwood/the-genres-it-is-thought-have-other-designs-on-us-they-want-to/) [Margaret Atwood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-atwood/) > [Writing is writing, and stories are stories. Perhaps the only true genres are fiction and nonfiction. And even there, who can be sure?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tanith-lee/writing-is-writing-and-stories-are-stories-perhaps-the-only-true/) [Tanith Lee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tanith-lee/) > [The biggest challenge of my career, which is something that authors of genre fiction face all the time, is writing something fresh and new…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/julia-quinn/the-biggest-challenge-of-my-career-which-is-something-that-authors-of/) [Julia Quinn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/julia-quinn/) > [The distinction between literary and genre fiction is stupid and pernicious. It dates back to a feud between Robert Louis Stevenson and Henry James.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-r-r-martin-2/the-distinction-between-literary-and-genre-fiction-is-stupid-and/) [George R. R. Martin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-r-r-martin-2/) > [I love outsider stories. And I also like a lot of genre fiction, too. So I wanted to write a literary book that flirted…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/porochista-khakpour/i-love-outsider-stories-and-i-also-like-a-lot-of-genre-fiction-too-so/) [Porochista Khakpour](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/porochista-khakpour/) > [Good writing is good writing. In many ways, it’s the audience and their expectations that define a genre. A reader of literary fiction expects…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rosemary-clement-moore/good-writing-is-good-writing-in-many-ways-it-s-the-audience-and-their/) [Rosemary Clement-Moore](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rosemary-clement-moore/) > [“The endless piles of genre fiction are the key to happiness. They’re the key to picking out the things that actually make you happy…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-lloyd-wilson/the-endless-piles-of-genre-fiction-are-the-key-to-happiness-they-re/) [Steven Lloyd Wilson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steven-lloyd-wilson/) > [“I’ve read science fiction and fantasy all my life – though when you’re a child, they just call that “books.” The first book I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/catherynne-m-valente/i-ve-read-science-fiction-and-fantasy-all-my-life-though-when-you-re/) [Catherynne M. Valente](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/catherynne-m-valente/) > [“Singling out “women’s fiction” for genre derision never fails to piss me off. Somehow worse when women do it. Case in pt: Editor says…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kelley-armstrong/singling-out-women-s-fiction-for-genre-derision-never-fails-to-piss/) [Kelley Armstrong](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kelley-armstrong/) > [“Thrillers, like all genre fiction, remain for the most part “beneath.” There is a feeling in literature, more than any other art form, that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/will-lavender/thrillers-like-all-genre-fiction-remain-for-the-most-part-beneath/) [Will Lavender](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/will-lavender/) > [When I write a book I write the best that I can and so much of that for me is following the book's demands,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/micheline-aharonian-marcom/when-i-write-a-book-i-write-the-best-that-i-can-and-so-much-of-that/) [Micheline Aharonian Marcom](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/micheline-aharonian-marcom/) > [If I had stayed purely a horror writer or thriller writer, I might have more of a presence in those particular genres, and I'd…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chet-williamson/if-i-had-stayed-purely-a-horror-writer-or-thriller-writer-i-might/) [Chet Williamson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chet-williamson/) ## More by Margaret Atwood > [“I'm fine," said Pilar, "for the moment. And the moment is the only time we can be fine in.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-atwood/i-m-fine-said-pilar-for-the-moment-and-the-moment-is-the-only-time-we/) [Margaret Atwood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-atwood/) > [And yet it disturbs me to learn I have hurt someone unintentionally. I want all my hurts to be intentional.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-atwood/and-yet-it-disturbs-me-to-learn-i-have-hurt-someone-unintentionally-i/) [Margaret Atwood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-atwood/) > [“Mary: Some call this "Eve's curse," but I think that is stupid because the real curse of Eve was having to put up with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-atwood/mary-some-call-this-eve-s-curse-but-i-think-that-is-stupid-because/) [Margaret Atwood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-atwood/) > [“The birds were singing around me, but I reflected that the very birds were strangers to me, for I did not even know their…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-atwood/the-birds-were-singing-around-me-but-i-reflected-that-the-very-birds/) [Margaret Atwood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-atwood/) > [“Strange how we decorate pain. These ribbons, for instance, and the small hard teardrops of blood. Who are they for? Do we think the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-atwood/strange-how-we-decorate-pain-these-ribbons-for-instance-and-the-small/) [margaret atwood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-atwood/) > [I wanted to forget the past, but it refused to forget me; it waited for sleep, then cornered me.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-atwood/i-wanted-to-forget-the-past-but-it-refused-to-forget-me-it-waited-for/) [Margaret Atwood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-atwood/) > [“Back at home they drew the curtains and read, with disapproval, with relish, with avidity and glee - even the ones who'd never thought…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-atwood/back-at-home-they-drew-the-curtains-and-read-with-disapproval-with/) [Margaret Atwood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-atwood/) > [“It's my fault. I am forgetting too much.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-atwood/it-s-my-fault-i-am-forgetting-too-much/) [Margaret Atwood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-atwood/) > [All fiction is about people, unless it's about rabbits pretending to be people. It's all essentially characters in action, which means characters moving through…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-atwood/all-fiction-is-about-people-unless-it-s-about-rabbits-pretending-to/) [Margaret Atwood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-atwood/) > [“Simon walks back to the house alone. The night is clear and warm, with a moon, almost full, enclosed in a nimbus of mist;…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-atwood/simon-walks-back-to-the-house-alone-the-night-is-clear-and-warm-with/) [Margaret Atwood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-atwood/) > [“There is indeed something delightful about being able to combine obedience and disobedience in the same act.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-atwood/there-is-indeed-something-delightful-about-being-able-to-combine/) [Margaret Atwood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-atwood/) > [“Every time the women appear, Snowman is astonished all over again. They're every known colour from the deepest black to whitest white, they're various…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-atwood/every-time-the-women-appear-snowman-is-astonished-all-over-again-they/) [Margaret Atwood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-atwood/) > [Once you publish a book, it is out of your control. You cannot dictate how people read it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-atwood/once-you-publish-a-book-it-is-out-of-your-control-you-cannot-dictate/) [Margaret Atwood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-atwood/) > [“The more difficult it was to love the particular man beside us, the more we believed in Love, abstract and total. We were waiting,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-atwood/the-more-difficult-it-was-to-love-the-particular-man-beside-us-the/) [Margaret Atwood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-atwood/) > [“She knows she's deceiving herself about that, but she prefers to deceive herself. She desperately needs to believe such pure joy is still possible.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-atwood/she-knows-she-s-deceiving-herself-about-that-but-she-prefers-to/) [Margaret Atwood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-atwood/) [Explore all 2,072 Margaret Atwood quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-atwood/) ## More Adventure quotes > [I'm trying to write a film with my friend. I'd love to get the thrill of speaking actors making my work even funnier.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/russell-howard/i-m-trying-to-write-a-film-with-my-friend-i-d-love-to-get-the-thrill/) [Russell Howard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/russell-howard/) > [I painted the words "GREAT ADVENTURE" in Beijing, Dallas, San Francisco, Copenhagen, and Japan. What it means to me is completely different to everybody…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ben-eine/i-painted-the-words-great-adventure-in-beijing-dallas-san-francisco/) [Ben Eine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ben-eine/) > [I've used the Phoenix Centrifuge to replicate what the body's going to go through on the flight up. I've also done some gravity tests…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-branson/i-ve-used-the-phoenix-centrifuge-to-replicate-what-the-body-s-going/) [Richard Branson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-branson/) > [I have lifted my plane . . . for perhaps a thousand flights and I have never felt her wheels glide from the Earth…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/beryl-markham/i-have-lifted-my-plane-for-perhaps-a-thousand-flights-and-i-have/) [Beryl Markham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/beryl-markham/) > [I am attracted to looking at the different things language can mean even in one sometimes quite ordinary utterance. Writing is partly about listening…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rae-armantrout/i-am-attracted-to-looking-at-the-different-things-language-can-mean/) [Rae Armantrout](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rae-armantrout/) > [What a thrill. You know you've entered new territory when you realise that your outfit cost more than your film.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jessica-yu/what-a-thrill-you-know-you-ve-entered-new-territory-when-you-realise/) [Jessica Yu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jessica-yu/) > [“So many people live within unhappy circumstances and yet will not take the initiative to change their situation because they are conditioned by a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexander-supertramp-chris-mccandless/so-many-people-live-within-unhappy-circumstances-and-yet-will-not/) [Alexander Supertramp Chris McCandless](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexander-supertramp-chris-mccandless/) > [A common fallacy in much of the adverse criticism to which science is subjected today is that it claims certainty, infallibility and complete emotional…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cyril-norman-hinshelwood/a-common-fallacy-in-much-of-the-adverse-criticism-to-which-science-is/) [Cyril Norman Hinshelwood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cyril-norman-hinshelwood/) > [“Exactly. I think the original tantric Buddhists took notice of was some very wise old people who never studied in their youth, but took…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joe-niemczura/exactly-i-think-the-original-tantric-buddhists-took-notice-of-was/) [Joe Niemczura](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joe-niemczura/) > [As an adventurer...I try to protect against the downside. I make sure I have covered as many eventualities as I can. In the end,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-branson/as-an-adventurer-i-try-to-protect-against-the-downside-i-make-sure-i/) [Richard Branson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-branson/) > [“Love can give you such happiness, then can break the very heart it filled, leaving a hole that can never be fixed or protected…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kevin-mcleod/love-can-give-you-such-happiness-then-can-break-the-very-heart-it/) [Kevin McLeod](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kevin-mcleod/) > [“It always gave Wolf a peculiar thrill thus to tighten his grip upon his stick, thus to wrap himself more closely in his faded…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-cowper-powys/it-always-gave-wolf-a-peculiar-thrill-thus-to-tighten-his-grip-upon/) [John Cowper Powys](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-cowper-powys/) > [“It all had to be squeezed and squeezed again, to provide a thrill, to provide enjoyment. 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Lawrence](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/d-h-lawrence-2/) > [I am not an adventurous person but I am gutsy.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rahul-vaidya/i-am-not-an-adventurous-person-but-i-am-gutsy/) [Rahul Vaidya](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rahul-vaidya/) > [Our civilization, bequeathed to us by fierce adventurers, eaters of meat and hunters, is so full of hurry and combat, so busy about many…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-joyce/our-civilization-bequeathed-to-us-by-fierce-adventurers-eaters-of/) [James Joyce](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-joyce/) [Browse all 7,690 Adventure quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/adventure/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“Anything that doesn't fit this mode has been shoved into an area of lesser solemnity called 'genre fiction,' and it is here that the spy thriller and the crime story and the adventure story and the supernatural tale and the science fiction, however excellently written, must reside, sent to their rooms, as it were, for the misdemeanor of being enjoyable in what is considered a meretricious way. 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