Why I don't like contemporary fiction

Friends, I have a bit of a problem with contemporary (or literary, if you prefer) fiction.  I've never actually read it (at least not since I was forced to in high school), but there's just something about it that rubs me the wrong way.  I think the main thing is that all these books end up sounding very much the same to me.  For instance, I like to read book reviews in the papers to keep up with the markets, and every time there's some contemporary book nominated for the Giller prize, or some such, you can bet the synopsis will go something like this:

John Doe is a troubled single father, working hard 

to make ends meet.  When he learns that his distant 

ancestor has died, he travels to Ireland for the funeral, 

where he is forced to confront his abusive past and 

 face his old drinking problem once and for all.

On the surface, I wouldn't have a problem with this story.  In fact, it might even be an interesting read.  The problem lies in that almost every literary novel looks like this to me.  I know this is a ridiculous generalization, but in my experience, this is what I've seen.  It seems that the contemporary writing community is incapable of even the slightest hint of levity.  Every story has to be about orphans, addiction, dark family secrets, suicide, or any number of other bleak subjects.  I think this might be something akin to the Oscars, in that only deadly serious movies get any real consideration for best picture.  

This is not to say that there aren't a few good literary novels out there, but because of the reasons listed above, I have no real interest in it.  I think this may have something to do with age, as well.  As far as I can tell, most of the writers of contemporary fiction are at least forty years old.  As such, their stories can only have so much resonance with a twentysomething such as myself.  

For me, reading has always been more an act of escapism.  The real world has enough struggles and tragedy in it as it is, so I don't understand why someone would want to spend their leisure time reading about situations much like their own lives.  To put it another way, I'd much rather explore space in the distant future than be part of a dysfunctional family in present day Toronto.

For those of you who enjoy literary fiction, I apologize if I've offended you in any way, but this is something I've wanted to vent about for a while now.  If you know of any non-typical contemporary stories, please let me know, and I will do my best to give them a chance.