Could a novel be as moving as real life? Possibly more, I'd argue: that work of fiction may have a much more emotional arc than your own life. Not everybody's

Could a novel be as moving as real life? Possibly more, I'd argue: that work of fiction may have a much more emotional arc than your own life. Not everybody's direct immediate "real world" life is great, or has the ingredients available to be great "in person." This goes back as long as we've been telling stories.