My favorite book is The Fences Between Us by Kirby Larson. If you were to look it up you would quickly see that it is a middle grade historical fiction novel about World War 2. Why is it my favorite? (1) History fascinates me. (2) Let's talk about the 1930's/1940's pop culture references for a second. (3) The main character is #relatable...well, to me anyway. But it is not literature. There is nothing outstanding about it that will withstand the test of time. It is memorable, but only for a season.
"Literature" today is involving, yet completely uninvolving at the same time. What people call "good works of literature" today only satisifies a moment's craving. Novels are easy to devour and hardly require any form of higher thinking. They do not have principles or ideas that will remembered down the road. It might be remembered fifty years from now, but will it be remembered in a hundred years? Two hundred years? How long will it last?
Yes, some books claim to be though provoking. But are they really? Do these "imploring" messages really inspire change? Is there more to the message, or is it a temporary foot tall soapbox? If you cannot critically apply your worldview and be able to pull out a coherent intelligent conversation, then you are wasting your time.
Books like Fifty Shades of Grey and Twilight are not romantic. They do not show what real love looks like. Fifty Shades of Grey is nothing more than word porn, and Twilight...do I even need to go there?
Yes, I would argue literature is a lost art form. Gone are the days of stories that were simple, yet beautiful. Lost are the days when style and form and content were important. No more are the stories that hold principles that will stand firm throughout time. Publishers want what sells, NOT what matters. Perhaps it is pessimistic to think there will never again be a "next great American novel"; maybe it's true. Time will only change.
