Is the novel dead or is the modern reader the problem?

We live in an age characterised by technological developments, an age in which we have become accustomed to limiting our thoughts and opinions to a mere 280 characters so that we may present ourselves to our audience as clearly and quickly as possible. Adjectives and metaphors are ruthlessly removed in order to save space and hold the attention of a general public whose attention span appears to be dwindling.

British author and journalist Howard Jacobson blames the alleged decline in novel sales on the ever-increasing popularity of social media sites such as Facebook and Twitter. Speaking at the Man Booker Festival, Jacobson argued that whilst impressive works of literature continue to be written and published, they are no longer read as widely as they were in years gone by. This leads him to suggest that this loss of popularity is not the fault of the novel itself, but instead the changing demands of the reader.

This leads him to suggest that this loss of popularity is not the fault of the novel itself, but instead the changing demands of the reader

The novel as a form of writing is not dead, that much seems obvious. Our high streets remain littered with bookshops, which suggests that the printed book has maintained its dominance, despite the advance of e-books. Indeed, with the fact that many book-lovers were outraged at the introduction of the Kindle, it has surely only provided a wider variety of individuals with access to books of varying genres, not just novels. Furthermore, book sales reached a record high of £5.7 billion pounds in 2017, according to the Publishing Association, which suggests that people still desire to read, despite the rise of social media.

The fact remains, however, that reading for pleasure is no longer a mandatory hobby now that we have our phones and computers at our beck and call every day. Perhaps, as Jacobson suggests, this is because most people no longer have the patience to read an entire book from cover to cover, due to the constant stream of concise information available on social media.

Book sales reached a record high of £5.7 billion pounds in 2017, according to the Publishing Association, which suggests that people still desire to read, despite the rise of social media

Indeed, whilst schools still teach and encourage children to read, they now have constant access to the internet from a very early age. As a result of this, children are able to use the internet for entertainment purposes, and their capacity and desire to read long pieces may be impaired when compared to those who did not grow up in this connected age. Furthermore, with the advent of streaming services such as Netflix, people are able to engage with film and television in a new and more flexible way. Reading a book requires significantly greater concentration than watching a movie, and as we can watch whatever we want, whenever we want, those who may have been less enamoured by the idea of reading in the first place now have a wide range of alternatives.

Jacobson talks of the need to reform the reader in order to revitalise the novel’s popularity and boost sales, and that in order to do this, we need to stop spending so much of our time using social media platforms. However, he appears to be exaggerating the extent of the issue. We have already seen the merging of technology and books in a myriad of ways, and the novel has always survived. People are able to buy books online at the touch of a button, both in physical and electronic form, and yet we can still walk into our local bookshops if it pleases us. Furthermore, the rise of self-publishing has allowed a far greater number of authors to share their work with an audience via the internet. Jacobson is critical of the modern reader, arguing that the highest sales are amongst murder mysteries and children’s books, but if people are continuing to enjoy these novels, does it really matter if they are not examples of high-class literature?