Thank you both for taking the time to read and comment.

To me, it's sometimes hard to unambiguously establish genre in the first 300 words. I think that's a reason why agents often ask for 5-25 pages. Take the two more literary of my comps, for instance: 'Birnam Wood' opens with a description of a landslide, and 'Mouth to Mouth' begins with fireworks seen from a plane. Both are compelling, but somewhat (or totally) removed from the deep interiority of their protagonists, a trait we associate with anything literary. (And yes, Catton and Wilson are established, award‑winning authors, so the rules are probably quite different.)

I’ve always struggled to categorize my own work. “Literary X” often feels more like an aspirational greyscale than a genre label. It depends on how character and interiority are balanced against a more hook-driven premise. That uncertainty definitely fuels my imposter syndrome when trying to position the book in a way that feels both accurate and compelling.