Let’s talk about Misery Lit and Uplit today! What are they? Which do you prefer? Which do you avoid?
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Misery Lit: A Definition
Misery literature, also called misery lit, misery porn, misery memoirs and trauma porn, is a literary genre dwelling on trauma, mental and physical abuse, destitution, or other enervating trials suffered by the protagonists or, allegedly, the writer (in the case of memoirs). ~Wikipedia
UpLit: A Definition
In simple terms: UpLit is fiction that makes you feel things – but also makes you feel better. These books tackle real-life challenges, but they don’t wallow in misery. Instead, they offer a gentle arc toward healing, connection, and hope. They may make you feel all the feels, but they’ll also help you exhale. ~Words on Location
I’m going to focus on Misery Lit today because I’ve already discussed Uplit here.
Which do you prefer?
This summer, a popular trending hashtag among the book review community was #sadgirlsummer as reviewers often referenced the sad books they were reading. While book reviewers were reveling in their sad girl summer and their sad books, I was actively trying to AVOID THEM! LOL.
Misery Lit is a new term to me. These are the books I label as BLEAK, DISMAL, DARK, or Unrelentingly SAD. If I have to choose, I choose Uplit over Misery Lit every time.
The definition of and reaction to Misery Lit varies widely from reader to reader. While I might DNF such a book, you might think, “it was sad but I loved it.” I’m not sure why, but the older I get, the less likely I enjoy bleak or dismal Misery Lit.
Although I can enjoy “complicated family drama,” I do not enjoy “dysfunctional family drama” (especially when innocent children are neglected and/or harmed).
If there’s no hope or redemption, I am quick to DNF. I don’t have too many examples because I’m fairly adept at avoiding Misery Lit. I have noticed that a great deal of Literary Fiction is Misery Lit and I wonder why the big Book Awards favor Misery Lit. Three recent examples of books I’ve read that might fall into the Misery Lit or Bleak subgenre include:
- Homemade God by Rachel Joyce (dysfunctional family)
- My Friends by Fredrik Backman (dysfunctional families)
- Seascraper by Benjamin Wood (bleak)
Misery Lit and Uplit are difficult to define. The definition is unique to each reader, and a case of “you’ll know it when you see it.”
I put two popular authors on my “auto do not buy” list who (I feel) manipulate me to “ugly cry”! They make their characters endure one sad event after another. I can hear these authors say, “Did you cry yet?” “How about now? Are you crying now?” They are unrelenting in their mission to inject misery and sadness into their stories. It feels gratuitous.
Some readers might have an aversion to Uplit the way I do to MIsery Lit! Reading is personal, and however you feel is right.
Are you #TeamMiseryLit or #TeamUpLit?
QOTD:
What are your reactions to Misery Lit or Uplit?
Do you prefer one over the other?
Happy Reading Book Pals!
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I’m team uplit!
Yay! We need to counterbalance the misery lit! 😂
I can be a mood reader. I do enjoy uplift and don’t actively look for misery lit. I remember reading Where The Crawdads Sing, which was very sad. As a mum I do find books where children are neglected or harmed to be harrowing. I also remember The Lonely Life of Biddy Weir (which is about bullying) and Eleanor Oliphant Is Completely Fine, both of which would fit this category for me.
Eleanor is a brave survivor, and I love Raymond. I wish we had a sequel. The more I thought about Crawdads, the less I liked it! I haven’t read Buddy Weir.
I’m not sure that I’ve ever read misery lit. I enjoy a good cry but only because of the happy things.
Yes, heartfelt and poignant over misery!
Interesting topic! I wasn’t particularly familiar with either term – miserly lit or uplit — but I definitely go more for uplit these days! Funny, I wouldn’t think about My Friends as misery lit — even though a lot of terrible, depressing things happen, Backman’s writing style is so funny even while describing dark circumstances that I still think of it as a mostly happy book. I find I have little interest these days in books that are only about terrible things and leave the characters feeling awful. (I’d put the two Colleen Hoover books I read into this category!)
The family dysfunction in My Friends made it difficult for me to enjoy the rest. But his writing kept it from being a DNF!
Life has enough stress. I need books that bring me up. Stories about overcoming and stories about hope through adversity bring hope. I don’t read books with graphic violence or detailed descriptions of abuse. These disturb me too much and stay with me. I like authors whose faith in God has helped them through hard times. I notice how many TV shows and movies are dark and violent and avoid them. I think those who write such things do so because they do not believe there is hope in this world or feel we need the stimulation of violence.
Yes to all the hope and overcoming and redemption! Have you read Theo of Golden?
I was kind of aware that “sad girl books” were trending for awhile–but, I don’t know why! I don’t want to feel sad on purpose when I read! If the pain is needed for the story, I get that. But I’m not going to seek out books solely to make myself cry!
Real life offers enough sorrow and sadness….i need to escape into uplit! Yes, there can be hard things in uplit but there is hope, redemption, and/or reconciliation.
#TeamUpLit all the way but you’d probably guess that! I know what you mean about the big prize lists often seeming to favour misery fiction. Often so bleak. I want to read to enjoy myself, not be depressed!
Exactly! I don’t know why big prize fiction is often bleak. It always makes me cautious going in!
I had never heard the term Misery Lit, Carol, but I definitely see that as a category. I prefer uplit and read more of it than misery lit, but I do read both. I usually find something hopeful in the misery lit books, at least I try to. A lot of WW2 stories are tragic, but there is usually a hopeful thread of someone who does something heroic, which is why I do read a lot of it. Interesting topic, Carol.
I thought about WW2 lit when I wrote the post. I can and have read some difficult and tragic ones. And although difficult, I don’t think of them as misery lit. There are a couple that are close. It’s hard to explain the difference between difficult content and misery lit aka trauma porn! The Nightingale by K Hannah is borderline for me in that her concentration camp scenes were unrelentingly sad….gratuitous sadness ….but that’s her style and why I have stopped reading her. Sad after sad after sad….for no purpose other than the sadness of it all. I saw some bookstagrammers refer to sad girl books over the summer (#sadgirlsummer) which caused me to write this post. literary fiction award winners are often bleak and dismal. It’s an interesting trend.
I stopped reading Can Lit for a long time as I found them all bleak and dismal. When I finished, I was happy that it was over. I never got how they received so many awards.🤷♀️
I feel the same about some Irish and Wales authors!