Is light literature out of fashion? So often, in perusing reviews of new release, I come across the words ‘dark’ and ‘depressing’. Some, if not most, current best sellers have been described in this manner. Does this mean ‘light’ literature is not longer in vogue?My own literature has been described as the antithesis of bleak and depressing. Does this mean its audience will be extremely limited?Why are readers choosing tales that may well disturb their psyche, instead of perhaps uplifting it? Is this a reflection of modern society? Do we enjoy being confronted by misery?
Is it time we all sat back and analysed the reasons behind our reading choices? Are we reading to be part of the mob, or are to satisfy our own innate desires?
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I can’t remember where I read it, but someone once said something along the lines of, “It’s easy to make people sad, writing to make people happy, to laugh, now that’s a challenge.”
Fortunately there are people, like you, Margaret, who take up the challenge.
Thanks, Jenny, for your comment. I’d never heard that quote before, and it gives me a new perspective, doubly pleasing due to your approval.:)
Isn’t the psychology behind the ‘dark’ a means to make people feel better about themselves and the stressful world we (each successive generation) have created? I don’t care do delve into other’s dark places, I’ve enough of my own, so light, any day Lynne, please 🙂
You may be right, Wanderlust Gene, but I for one find little joy in focusing on life’s miseries and unhappy outcomes.
There is a school of thought that contends that ‘happy ever after ‘ outcomes provide a substitute, positive resolution for true life’s problems.
What everyone seems to agree on is that people feel beset by the trials of life 🙂
Literature can be a safety valve.:)