A novel is a genre of literature, as a rule, a prose work that tells about the fate of an individual who is the main character of the novel. The works of this genre most often describe the crisis, non-standard periods of the fate of the protagonist, his attitude to the world, the formation and development of self-identity and personality.
It is practically impossible to give an exact and absolutely complete classification of such a genre as a novel, since basically such works are always in conflict with accepted literary conventions. In this literary genre, at all stages of its development, elements of modern drama, journalism, mass culture and cinema are always closely intertwined. The only invariable element of the novel remains the way of storytelling in the form of reporting. Thanks to this, the main types of the novel can still be distinguished and described.
Initially, in the 12th-13th centuries, the word roman meant any written text in Old French and only in the second half of the 17th century. partially found its modern semantic content.
Social romance
The basis of such works is a description of various behaviors adopted in any particular society, and the actions of heroes that contradict or correspond to these values. Social romance has 2 varieties: cultural-historical and descriptive.
A non-narrative novel is a chamber social narrative focused on the standards and moral nuances of social behavior. A vivid example of a work of this kind is Jane Austen's novel Pride and Prejudice.
A cultural-historical novel, as a rule, describes the history of a family against the background of the cultural and moral standards of its time. Unlike the narrative, this type of novel touches on history, subjects individuals to deep study, and offers its own social psychology. A classic example of a cultural-historical novel is Tolstoy's War and Peace. It is noteworthy that this form of the novel is very often imitated by the so-called blockbusters. For example, the popular work of M. Mitchell "Gone with the Wind", at first glance, has all the signs of a cultural-historical novel. But the abundance of melodramatic episodes, stereotypical heroes and superficial social psychology suggests that this novel is just an imitation of a serious work.
Psychological novel
In this type of novels, the reader's entire attention is focused on the inner world of man. The work in the genre of a psychological novel is full of internal monologues, the stream of consciousness of the protagonist, analytical comments and symbolism. Dickens' Great Expectations, Dostoevsky's Notes from the Underground are vivid representatives of the psychological form of the novel.
Novel of ideas
A novel of ideas or a “philosophical” novel uses its heroes as carriers of various intellectual theories. In works of this type there is always a lot of space devoted to all kinds of ideas and opinions regarding everything in the world, from the moral values of society to outer space. An example of such a novel is the work of the famous philosopher Plato "Dialogues", in which participants and heroes are the mouthpiece of Plato himself.
Adventure novel
Quest novel, intriguing romance, chivalric romance, spy thriller also belong to this type of novel. As a rule, such works are full of action, plot intricacies, brave and strong heroes, love and passion. The main goal of adventure novels is to entertain the reader, comparable, for example, with the movie.
The longest novel "People of Good Will" by Louis Henri Jean Farigoule, aka Jules Romain (France) was published in 27 volumes in 1932-1946. The novel has 4959 pages and approximately 2070000 words (not counting the 100-page index).
