Let me preface this by saying that no, I am not some die hard classic lit fan that will push you to read obscure Russian literature. That is not what this is about.
As a literature student and the daughter of academics, growing up surrounded by books, literature of all kind has always been important to my life. Growing up in that environment, I was often shamed for not reading more âintellectualâ stuff. Therefore, this is not meant to shame anyoneâs personal preferences but rather to help us reflect on why the content we consume is more important than we might think. Regardless, I encourage everyone to read more, whether that’s obscure stuff or your comfort childhood novel.
The trope problem
The problem with current state of literature is not that people arenât reading (that is also a problem, for sure) but rather that people arenât varying what they read. They’re not mentally challenging themselves to switch genres, writers, or writing styles, and that lack of variety has affected book sales.
With the rise of social media among younger audiences, they are being sold the same ten to twenty titles over and over on TikTok, to the point where bookstores across the world now have dedicated âBookTokâ stands. These books are often quite simplistic in their writing styles, lacking proper plot, and leaning heavily on shock value and melodramatic twists. They often romanticise dangerous situations, and can lead to readers finding other kinds of books incredibly hard or demoralizing to read, keeping them stuck in a vicious cycle. Whatever makes you start reading is good, but being able to grow within that is even better.
With a lot of the easier reads and the popularization of âBookTokâ, it seems modern literature has fallen into a vicious cycle of trope writing. Every new romance, fantasy, or popular book becomes a flurry of comments online asking what tropes it has, and is categorised by this alone. Writers seem to have adjusted to this and have been feeding into this trope frenzy, selling and marketing is now done through key words like âenemies to loversâ, âone bedâ, âsunshine x grumpyâ, etc. This has hindered the market for writers with a wider audience in mind. Not to say that these tropes are the issue, theyâre not, they have existed since the beginning of time but writing just to fill some trope checklist is making most popular novels repetitive, simplistic, and unoriginal.
the kuang case study
Some writers who’ve unwittingly fallen outside this marketing style have come under scrutiny for not “being accessible.”
Author R.F. Kuang came under fire on social media for her novel Katabasis, which takes place in an academic setting and references a fair amount of classic literature. Online users created a “required reading list” for the book, which others then deemed inaccessible, plot-heavy, demanding serious analysis, and generally quite long.
What they didn’t realise was that none of it was actually required. The novel itself is self-contained, and requires little to no prior knowledge of the classics it references. It’s not that the book is difficult to read, it’s just vastly different from the writing style most popular books use right now. It’s simply heavier in character depth, with more nuance to sit with and recognise yourself in.
Kuang’s writing in Katabasis is actually fairly direct, and gives you clear answers to any questions that arise. And yet many readers found it demanding, and didn’t finish it, which raises the question of why. Preference plays a role, of course, but even readers who like similar tropes struggled to finish it, describing it as too challenging or too textbook-like. It’s a common critique of Kuang’s work more broadly.
Much of what’s been said here is a generalisation, of course. Genuinely great novels are being published constantly, and this critique is mostly aimed at social media’s most popular, most recommended titles. They’ve made a real impact, but literature is far too wide and diverse for any single trend to redirect its entire trajectory, only certain genres, and even that has limits.
There are more critiques to be made about the current state of popular fiction and its impact, but they’re too broad to cover in one article.
Read Widely, Judge No One
My favourite book for a long time was Percy Jackson. Its writing isn’t perfect, but it’s genuinely enjoyable to me. I also understand that Dostoevsky is a great writer, just not one for me.
The point I’m trying to make is really about influence, because what you’re exposed to shapes your mind and your vocabulary. Being able to tell the difference between something that’s weak in craft but enjoyable, and something that’s strong but boring to you personally, is a skill worth having.
Read whatever you want, as long as you read, as long as you’re actively using your brain, as long as you try to challenge yourself. If you don’t want to, that’s fine. But remember: in the country of the blind, the one-eyed man is king. Or, as they say in Spanish, quien no conoce a Dios, a cualquier santo le reza (“whoever doesn’t know God will pray to any saint”).