A Novel Idea

Why did the novel of ideas fall out of favor? Perhaps our distrust of concepts is hard earned, due to recently completing a century in which ideas fared so poorly. It was a period in which the really heinous actions were always done in the name of some idea. Or perhaps the novel – like everything else in society these days – is more comfortable addressing ideologies rather than ideas. But maybe an even simpler explanation can be mustered. The dominant role of films and television in contemporary story-telling – a pre-eminence that has emphasized “showing” versus “telling” -- has created a widespread impatience among audiences with those subtle, metaphysical things that can’t be shown.