I agree that novels, and other long narratives, have become less culturally central, less influential, than they were fifty or sixty years ago. (And I regret this.) But are they less culturally central than they were a hundred years ago? I’m not sure about that. Two hundred years ago? Hard to say.
How many ambitious and masterful novels can we reasonably expect our culture to produce each year? How many thoughtful and sensitive readers can we reasonably expect those novels to have? I don’t find these questions easy to answer.
here we go again – The Homebound Symphony by Alan Jacobs
It is interesting to think about how many people read books alongside the discussion of listening to music. One of the really interesting ideas presented by Michel Faber in his book Listen is that there are actually people who do not like music at all. Maybe the same goes for literature and long reads?