Dangerous fictions The fear of fantasy and the invention of reality

Critic and novelist Gold debuts with a refreshing critique of the assumptions imposed on fiction from both sides of the culture wars. Objections to novels and films from the right and left, whether of the "wokeness" in Marvel movies or the "faults of representation" in YA novels, "arise from the same misguided presumptions about what fictional stories do, how they can or should be regulated, and whether they can be justified," Gold writes. Careful to avoid "false equivalencies" between the right and left but unflinching in her analysis, her wide-ranging study begins with Plato, who worried about fiction's corrosive effects on children, and spans to the current spate of conservative book bans (which she deplores) and liberal claims about literature's supposed "empathy-generating qualities" (which she considers dubious). Dusting off Oscar Wilde's "art for art's sake" dictum, Gold presents it as the better path, arguing that it "isn't some sort of antipolitical statement but a highly political one" because of how it promotes not only artistic freedom but a genuine diversity of perspectives. Throughout, Gold blends rigorous scholarship with internet-literate humor, and in the end, she flips the script on fiction's moral critics, claiming the allegedly harmful effects of fiction are the fault of bad readers, not of bad writing, since readers can't be stopped from seeing what they want to see. This much-needed beacon guides readers through the morass of present-day cultural discourse. (Oct.)

What good is fiction? Journalist Gold makes an incisive book debut with a thoughtful, often witty, examination of the causes and consequences of banning novels. "Most of the time," she writes, "when we get anxious about the effects of fiction, we're worried about mimetic responses--not so much from ourselves but from other people." From ancient Greece to present-day America, book banners claim that they are protecting readers from ideas about reality that would harm them or undermine the community's values. To Plato, for example, tales of gods behaving badly were "always endorsement and a social license for bad behavior." Gold skewers the justification used by right-wingers that readers--especially children--will mistake a story for reality, "and that this mistake will lead them into unhealthy or disreputable situations." "Cancel culture," Gold contends, though not as virulent as outright banning, arises from the same "misguided presumptions" about fiction's insidious power. For Gold, the crucial question is this: "How much can we expect of art and entertainment to fix our problems with reality, especially under our current economic and political system?" Gold refutes assertions from the left that "viewing and promoting something that the far right dislikes" is "a political act in itself," and a virtuous act, at that. Reading about climate change, she reminds readers, doesn't stop global warming. Gold looks at sci-fi, video games, movies, and TV to argue that media companies produce what is in their "financial best interest." If an anti-capitalist novel were published, she writes, "it would just be a novel: it wouldn't affect capitalism one way or another." Still, Gold extols the impact of fiction: "We're transformed by great writing," she claims, "notbeyond our own powers and capabilities butinto them." A savvy contribution to current debates. Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.