While novels that transcend the boundaries of time, such as everything I have been reading lately in English, are utterly fantastic, I find it hard to resist one that is directed so specifically to a contemporary concept. It is not simply the incorporation of current technology or our ever-evolving set of colloquialisms, but a novel that focuses around fan fiction.
Of course, as much as I like to prattle on about this being “unique” and “contemporary”, the themes of Fangirl by Rainbow Rowell—the origins of creativity, our way of coping and responding to the world, and gosh darn it being yourself—do indeed transcend the boundaries of time.
It contains a lovely jumble of various elements: a set of estranged twins, an initially surly roommate, creative writing classes, and a fictional fandom. Simon Snow initially comes off as simply a Harry Potter parody, a young orphan boy who finds out he is a magician and thus must attend a magical academy with an enigmatic and wise headmaster, all while discovering it is his destiny to thwart the Great Antagonist (in this case, the Insidious Humdrum.) Yet Simon Snow seems to parallel the growth of the novel as his story becomes much more than simply that; the plot, concepts and characters become complex and (I’ll admit) almost more interesting than the main story itself. The excerpts of Simon Snow flip between the original and Cath’s fanfics until you stop noticing whether something is canon or not–and perhaps what Cath finds out is that doesn’t matter, at the very least, in life.
Perhaps what I found most impressive was Rowell’s ability to handle numerous different writing styles, her own narration, the occasional snippet of other writing, that of the Simon Snow books and Cath’s writing. They were all distinct and engaging and finally, the interplay between these two worlds, one fiction and one, well, technically fiction as well, was meticulously crafted. I felt incredibly cheerful after I finished, not only from Cath’s side of the story, but Simon’s as well.
I haven’t really read much fan fiction, but this novel certainly made me want to. And to start, why not read fan fiction about Fangirl?
