CURRENT LITERARY FASHION

I have noticed, thanks I suppose to Cormac McCarthy, that some writers are foregoing quote marks.

I tried to read one of McCarthy's books but decided after about thirty pages it wasn't for me. I did read another one recently, THE PARTICULAR SADNESS OF LEMON CAKE by Aimee Bender, that omitted quote marks.

I kept trying to decide if someone was talking or not. And if so who it was. It distracted me and took me out of the story (which I did finish although it's not one I'll ever reread).

Is this the new fad? A way to separate literary from genre fiction since the two seem to have become so closely entwined in the past few years? I'm dismayed because I prefer zipping through stories without having to worry about who's speaking or whether they're speaking.

Guess I'm old-fashioned. Doubtless I'll learn to like it if it catches on.