Too Far Afield

If you are writing a novel that spends a significant amount of time overseas, you should be aware of the xenophobia factor. That is an American reader’s preference to read about American characters and/or locales. This may stem from living in an insular country where people disdain learning other languages and preach to other countries about our values.

Of course, the best-seller list is dotted with exceptions. One that jumps out is Anthony’s Doerr’s All the Light We Cannot See. That stems from the fact that most readers are looking for two elements in a novel. One is the lure of the exotic: am I being taken to a place I’ve never experienced? Yet the other is identification: can I imagine myself inside the head of the protagonist during the exotic journey?

How well an author stimulates the reader to participate vicariously determines whether she wishes to read the book all the way through. That identification explains our affinity for British characters and settings, since inhabitants of that insular nation also bristle at any notion of restricted elbows. In general, American readers also understand the motivations and moral leanings of our European forebears. For one example, why did the Soviet Union become the Evil Empire whereas today’s China, equally repressive and powerful, garners little more than puzzled shrugs? I believe it’s because we understood why Moscow was so Machiavellian.

That’s why you need to be cautious about your choice of exotica. If your novel features an Afghani professor who gets caught up in trafficking in the Golden Triangle, the average reader may think that is too weird. You can imagine the thoughts running through her head. A professor? Do they even have colleges in Afghanistan? Isn’t that the awful country we finally got our soldiers out of? And what’s with the Golden Triangle? Oh, that’s heroin (ugh) . . .

Afghanistan is a perfectly fine exotic locale. It was the setting for runaway best-seller The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseni. But you know what? I had to google the spelling of the author’s name, and I’m more willing than most to plunge into a new jungle. Despite this, the reason the book became so popular was the personal relationships at its core.

If you can make a central partnership, such as a building romance, involve the reader intensely, it doesn’t matter if the couple is being kidnapped by the Berbers of Algeria or confronting an epidemic in Myanmar. We can root for or against your chosen individuals. So, don’t be afraid to venture abroad, but be aware that the American reader needs some reason to want to come along for the ride.

“It is often safer to be in chains than to be free.” —Franz Kafka

Copyright @ 2025, John Paine