If there is one thing that elicits almost universal distrust among contemporary scholars, it is any literary work that seeks to uplift its readers. Texts that terrify, disgust, depress, derange, devastate, destabilize, disorient, disconcert, or in some other way inflict pain upon us are treated as model citizens within the contemporary republic of letters, commended for the important work they are doing. Texts by contrast that seek to alleviate our misery, raise our spirits, or make us feel better about our lives are clearly up to no good. The painful truths of existence, so goes the consensus, should not be disguised or evaded. Indeed, literary works that present reality as anything other than brutal and grim are analogous to those well-wishers who tactlessly try to console survivors of unimaginable tragedies with useless bromides about the better place the deceased now occupy or the importance of cherishing the happy memories they...

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