Titles we love but can’t define

Stick to one lane and pick one genre is common advice for aspiring writers. But in literature, every rule can be broken. There are many great writers who make us wonder which shelf their book should occupy: science fiction, fantasy, thriller or . . . miscellaneous? Let’s discuss some of the best books that defy categorization.

• Silvia: “The Darkangel” (1982), by Meredith Ann Pierce is a fascinating young-adult novel that is technically science fiction — it’s set in a nebulous, distant future — yet reads like a fairy tale. A vampire must obtain 14 brides before he can become immortal, but things get complicated when a young woman intrudes into his castle. A charming read.

Patrick Suskind’s “Perfume” (1985) focuses on a man from the slums of 18th century Paris with a sense of smell so sublime it jumps into the realm of the fantastic. But it’s also the tale of a serial killer on the hunt for the perfect scent — and the ideal victim. Similarly, “The Prestige” (1995), by Christopher Priest might at first seem like a historical novel in epistolary form about two rival stage magicians, but as the book advances it becomes part mystery, part science fiction story.

I’ve seen “Titus Groan” (1946) by Mervyn Peake described as a “fantasy of manners” and a “Gothic” novel, though neither term quite hits the mark. It lavishly details life at a labyrinthine castle, unveiling a large cast of characters and following the machinations of a social-climbing kitchen boy. “Piranesi” (2020) by Susanna Clarke, shares a resemblance to Peake’s impossibly large Gormenghast castle, so if you liked one you might like the other.

• Lavie: Shimon Adaf’s “Lost Detective” trilogy is coming out this summer, translated from Hebrew by Yardenne Greenspan. While the first novel, “One Mile and Two Days Before Sunset,” is an almost-traditional mystery, set in the aftermath of Israel’s shortlived rock renaissance of the ‘90s, by the third (and epic sized) volume, “Take Up and Read,” it veers into science fiction, combining with and crossing between realistic fiction, detective and full-on Weird. But even in the first book, Adaf’s love of science fiction is expressed through his detective hero, Elish Ben Zaken, whose reading tastes reference classics of the genre. If you like Roberto Bolaño you will like Adaf.

Speaking of Bolaño — another writer who had a