For Olivia Rosenthal, literature is subversive by nature

French author Olivia Rosenthal worries about the homogenisation of literary tastes produced by the commercial logic of best-sellers. "Instead of following the hit parade of best selling books, as if this could take the role of a critic, as if the reign of 'good taste' could replace the search for meaning, as if we should all like the same things, think the same way and feel the same emotions, as if the 'universal' - which is the philosophical term we use for homogenisation - had any role whatsoever in the elaboration of a work of art, we would be better off admitting and defending a very simple but not very popular idea: that literature cannot be, will never be, a widespread practice, because by nature it is subversive."

» to the homepage (external link, Le Monde)
More from the press review on the subject » Literature, » Global