I was way too young for some of Paley's sophisticated relationship twists. I was less experienced than most of her characters. I didn't know New York neighborhoods. It didn't matter. Many people have said that books are a great education because they take the reader to times and places the reader couldn't possibly go alone.
Great stories impart cultural information and values while they entertain.
A story can evoke all the human emotions. Anything that does that is very powerful indeed. At one time our ancestors told stories about the deadly things that dwelt in the wilderness. Stories up to the end of the last century reflected that. Things have changed.