I don't know if this label has been attached to any particular trend in writing these days; but I'll bet that someone has used it for the novels and stories produced by writers like Dave Eggers, David Foster Wallace or Lorrie Moore. I admire their work at times, but I also find myself irritated by the relentless tongue-in-cheek quality of some of their work.
The other end of the pendulum, in terms of today's fiction writing, might be someone like Jhumpa Lahiri, who creates earnest, thoughtful stories about the immigrant experience and culture clashes of all kinds. A recent Time article described a changing of the guard in fiction writing, with Lahiri representing the newer trend; I would say, rather, that both trends are "hot" in today's fiction market. With Lahiri, however, I grow weary of that aforementioned earnestness. In her writing, she's digging deep into the conflicted souls of many immigrants and their children. But her work borders on being humorless.
In a sense, then, Colum McCann and Alberto Luis Urrea represent a refreshing third wave--writers discussing the immigrant experience (or at least a multicultural experience) that is so much at the center of what we are and what we've become as a nation, but writers who can also take a step back from that focus and just talk about people--in a funny, compassionate way.
I haven't read any novels recently that excited me as much as their latest works. I hope they will lead the way towards what I think would be an interesting new trend: writing that opts for humor rather than sarcasm and poetry rather than earnestness. I'll try to write more about this tomorrow.
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