The Joy in the Absurd
By: Trey
Anyone who has listened to a few episodes of Plot is Optional (PiO) that I have been on is likely aware of my frustration with the many characters with anxious attachment styles and their resultant internal monologue. My annoyance with this is not born out of an inability to understand why they feel this way or a judgement of that anxiety. In fact, my discomfort comes from the way it mirrors my own mind and how it navigated relationships in the past. Despite any growth I can identify or dare to claim, my mind still plays the anxiety game and offers me plenty of doubts and fears regularly. One worry that frequently comes to mind regarding the podcast is that I may come across as judgmental or critical of the books we read such as of the writing or the author. More than as an attempt to ease my own mind, I am writing this blog post because I think that this worry leads to a broader important topic, the many ways in which readers enjoy smut.
I think that it can be easy to make assumptions about how people enjoy the sort of books we cover on PiO whether you want to call them romance, smut, erotica, etc. Obviously, to one degree or another, many readers take erotic and/or romantic pleasure from the books. In some books, that is the main offering. In some of the less “traditional” writings such as many of the books we cover on the podcast the other ways in which romantic/erotic fiction can be enjoyed becomes more obvious. However, whether the book is cozy and contemporary, historical, or if it is niche fantasy kink-aligned, I would like to argue that there is always to some degree a bit of absurdity at the heart of the joy we find in these books.
In the first several books that Alli and I covered on the podcast, which were all contemporary cozy romance, my understanding of romance/erotica was nascent and admittedly is still developing. In these cozy contemporary books, it was less clear what exactly this absurdity meant, what purpose it served, or that it was anything other than a potential flaw. I was not fully aware of the joy that I was actually finding in things like cringey seemingly unrealistic dialogue or the deus ex machina plot twists. Some may say that these “flaws” are simply inconsequential because at their core these books are escapist. I think that an alternative perspective is that these features of the books offer us so many additional ways to take pleasure in these books.
More recently, the books we have covered have been more overtly fantastical. I think that my recent dive deep into Amy Bellow’s Pebble Gifters series– yes, we covered the first on the podcast by I am nearly done with book six and don’t plan to stop until I have read all nine)– has helped clarify the way in which I take joy in the absurdity of these books. In the series, Amy (yes, I do find it funny to use authors’ first names as if I know them) demonstrates an excellent talent for interweaving the absurd, the erotic, and the sociopolitical into her writing. These books have made me laugh out loud, cry, and rant.
I find myself enjoying the books we read on PiO on multiple levels. I enjoy them both as I am fully engaged with my disbelief fully suspended and when I am reflecting on a more meta level, aware of the fact that this is something created as a work of fiction. I think that earlier on in the podcast, I thought that I would find joy in some books because parts would be “so bad that they are good” such as is the case for cult classic “B-movies.” And I think that my mind was looking for “bad writing” or “unrealistic” plot points as a way of finding joy. Now, I see it differently. I do notice what feels unrealistic or unusual or absurd. And I still call it out. But now I do so more and more as a way to celebrate the absurdity. These quirks in these books are the features that really encourage me to engage in my favorite part of reading them. The absurdity is what makes me want to talk about these books. The absurdity is what leads me to giving my partner the highlights in the rants I give them multiple times a week as they patiently listen. The absurd moments and the tropes are what make me look forward to recording the podcast. Reading these books knowing that Alli has read the same thing and imagining her responses to them makes the process so much more enjoyable. The beautiful absurdity is what makes it so irresistible to talk through these books with Alli on the podcast and to ask “what the f***?”
When I say that something is ridiculous, or awkward, or unrealistic on the podcast, on some level I am taking joy in being given something to talk about. The absurdity, the bizarre, and the unrealistic are just as much part of the pleasure to be found in these books as the erotic or romantic pleasure. Our podcast as a whole is meant to celebrate this special kind of fiction and not to take pleasure in tearing it apart or making fun of it. The books we read are enjoyable and wonderful, not despite the absurd elements, but because of them.