Can the Novella Save Literature?

As the novel loses out to the ever-declining attention spans of the digital age, perhaps it’s time for serious literature to hitch itself to the novella, says Jean Hannah Edelstein on the Guardian’s books blog.

With a length somewhere between a short story and a novel, the novella can deliver a sophisticated read without draining the amount of time a novel does, she says. It only takes a few hours to read, making it no more of a time commitment than a reality-television program or a movie. Thanks to the amount of paper they require, novellas can profitably sell for the price of a magazine.

Best of all, growth in novellas would bolster intellectual standards in an industry that lately has been accused of dumbing down literature. The novella’s shortness tends to bring out “care and thought and the extra level of creative gusto” in authors. Revered examples from the past include “Ethan Frome” by Edith Wharton, “The Turn of the Screw” by Henry James and “Breakfast at Tiffany’s” by Truman Capote.

Despite these advantages, the novella is still treated with skepticism. Many critics last year considered Ian McEwan’s novella-length “On Chesil Beach” too short to earn respect. That’s just being “sizeist,” says Ms. Edelstein. — Robin Moroney

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