The same reviewer will then praise another book for its relentless portrayal of the bleakness of everyday life. This is propaganda, not criticism. They aren't offering an intelligent analysis of an author's ability to construct and execute a novel. In our society, popular fiction is story after story told around urban campfires, stories which point out that life is not a tale told by an idiot, full of sound and fury and signifying nothing. There is more to life than defeat and despair.
Life is full of possibilities.
Victory is one of them. Joy is another. And that's why people read popular fiction. To be reminded that life is worth the pain. All rights reserved.