What is the purpose of fiction? I think it means something different to everyone. I agree with the theory that the very greatest works of fiction are those that can be interpreted differently depending upon the reader. The stories that I become attached to the most are those made up of exceptions: exceptions to the rules of society that I live by (I'm a pretty well behaved girl), exceptions to the norm, exceptions to the people I know, exceptions to the truth, and even exceptions to the most basic of basics - nature.
Exceptions to the rules of society occur in stories set in time periods/societies that I recognize, whether it's my own or one from the past that I feel familiar with for one reason or another. I love seeing people break the rules for good reasons. And I love to see a meaningful change come about in the society portrayed or the individual character.
Exceptions to the norm are actually a regular occurrence. I think we just don't notice them as much in our own lives as we do in the tales we read. It's unnerving to recognize an exception to the norm in a book that I never realized I'd seen before in my own life or the lives of those around me. I appreciate the fact that fiction makes my own life more clear because it's easier to look at something from the distance between my eyes and the page.
People exceptions are the best of all exceptions because they make all stories interesting whether they be fiction or fact. I truly adore meeting people in person and in writing that make me redefine what I know of people. Reading a story with a great character sometimes makes me feel as if I used to know them somewhere in my past and getting to know them through the story sometimes leads to a better understanding of who they might have been or done.
And lastly I have to mention exceptions to the truth and even exceptions to the most basic of basics - nature. I like to think that the exceptions we dream of are actually a part of our reality that is harder to see, harder to believe, or harder to understand. I took biology, human anatomy & physiology, geology, and many more (I won't claim Physics because I got a D...dang you Dr. Pullman). But I still love to hear a fictional account of how all the "truths" and "knowledge" we've accumulated as a people could be wrong; or at least how they could be superseded. I love exceptions to the accepted scientific limits of our day. I love tales of magic and unparalleled strength, super powers and futuristic societies that have evolved beyond the limits we accept in the present.
Basically, I think the exceptions are the things that make life and fiction interesting. They don't always result in good times, but they do always result in something worth thinking about. But when it comes to reading fiction, I have to say, a good exception makes for good times in my book.
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