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Why are most Jewish fiction stories have to do with tzarus? When I want to read a story, I dont’ want to read about someone else’s tzarus.
Most fiction is about tzarus, and how the character overcame (or didn’t). Reading about someone who gets up, has a normal happy day, and goes to bed contented would be somewhat boring.
If you want to read about someone who figured something out, learn Gemara.
Once upon a time there was a boy named Moishy. Nothing ever happened to him. The end.
It’s a rule of writing. When making a novel, there needs to be conflict and a resolution, and sometimes there’s a sad ending, but happy ones are much better in my opinion. Plus, it’s more realistic when the characters have challenges and try to work it out.
We need to relate to characters in books.
Once upon a time there was a Jew who kept all the mitzvahs and he had a good parnassah and all his children stayed on the derech and his wife ….
How about being realistic? The ones where someone is kidnapped or recruited by the CIA to infiltrate a terrorist cell, or becomes a secret detective on the trail of some crime… come on, that never happens! It’s one thing in secular fiction but in Jewish fiction? Please.
And why is there no such thing as a Jewish fantasy story?
There is no such thing as a Jewish fantasy story because fantasy suggests that there are supernatural powers in the world besides Hashem, such as Voldemort and Tinker Bell.
You could have a “so-called fantasy” involving malachim, sheidim, kishuf etc.
You could fantasize about a kidnapping or the CIA infiltrating a terrorist cell or a secretive detective investigating a crime.
Fantasy is supposed to be fantasy. The same way, you could say any fiction is heresy because it mentions things happening differently from the way Hashem created the world, such as Chaim Twersky getting the measles on a Tuesday.
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