I wish there were more facts in modern novels as well. Fiction’s alleged communicative purpose is to entertain the reader but I gather it’s too simplistic. Dost

I wish there were more facts in modern novels as well. Fiction’s alleged communicative purpose is to entertain the reader but I gather it’s too simplistic. Dostoyevsky’s Crime & Punishment seems to be to be an analysis on the soul. It entertains because it captivates. For example, “Where the wild things are” has captivated both my child and I since we first read it sitting on the floor of a bookstore. It’s the kind of book I had been dreaming of writing myself. It is an illustrated album explaining children’s psychology to children of all ages. We can read it over and over again for the next few years. I wish there were more illustrated albums explaining very complicated or abstract concepts using beautiful drawings and simple, rhyming verses per page. Most educational books are too informative, they explain lots of concepts on a page. And most children’s books are puerile or too patronising.