What differentiates popular fiction from literary fiction? They are both expansive classifications, and it’s true that all books have distinct features. However, in a broad sense, popular fiction adopts a straightforward vocabulary, utilises a clear and practical style and imparts an engaging narrative. Conversely, literary fiction adopts a cautious approach to language, utilising sound and imagery to stir the reader’s feelings, and delving deeply into characterisation and events. There is certainly an overlap as readers can identify novels that hold many characteristics of popular fiction but are marketed as “literary”.
However, the book Frankie, written by Graham Norton, has no aspirations to be anything other than a stereotypical popular fiction novel. The book tells a riveting story about detailed characters in straightforward language, notably absent of Norton’s characteristic wit and humour. Yet, the book is gripping, intriguing and gratifying to read.
The book utilises a frame story structure. Frankie, an elderly woman in London, shares her life story with a young Irish caregiver. This life story, told as a separated narrative, forms the meat and substance of the novel.
Frankie’s childhood spent in the 1950s Cork is a melancholic tale of a Protestant upbringing, strikingly resembling works like Reading Turgenev. Yet, it lacks the endearing romanticism of William Trevor’s novels, which is interesting for readers to notice the distinct approaches towards similar themes.
Frankie, the beautiful and submissive protagonist, marries an unpleasant elderly clergyman. However, she is ejected from her tormented life in West Cork due to her passionate affair with a Catholic farmer she encounters on her egg delivery route, and swiftly turns into the protagonist one would expect to find in a racy popular novel. She leaves the gloomy life in Ireland for a more exciting life in London and New York.
In these cities, Frankie uncovers her hidden talents, discovers she is an extraordinary chef, and sets off on a life filled with the glamour of millionaires, fashionable restaurants, and poor artists with immense talent who attain notable success. This extraordinary scenario is recognisable to me as an ardent reader of Danielle Steel’s works, often read in foreign translations due to the lovely and simple vocabulary employed. I profoundly recommend her books, regardless of your choice of language.
Would you be interested in perusing this type of content in a comprehensible language such as English? Perhaps. This enthralling narrative about a young lass from Cork experiencing life in all its glory makes a riveting read, perfect for a day at the seaside, a relaxed bedtime, or a train journey. It doesn’t provoke thought, nor is it enlightening or plausible in the slightest. However, even at the risk of sounding condescending, one must not dismiss a captivating tale.