Why I Read Fiction

“[Substantive works of fiction are] the only places where there [is] some civic, public hope of coming to grips with the ethical, philosophical and sociopolitical dimensions of life that were elsewhere treated so simplistically. From Agamemnon forward, for example, we’ve been having to deal with the conflict between loyalty to one’s family and loyalty to the state. And strong works of fiction are what refuse to give easy answers to the conflict, to paint things as black and white, good guys versus bad guys. They’re everything that pop psychology is not.”

– Jonathan Franzen, quoting Shirley Brice Heath in his essay “Why Bother?”