Will literature's forgotten characters get the novel they deserve?

ARTICLE LONG FORMAT, Eugène Praz | One of the invigorating features of contemporary literature is that its novels bring together places, eras, generations, peoples and social classes - if that term is still valid - in a pleasing variety of forms and plots. The latter, sometimes very fanciful, are often deliciously comic; think, for example, of the novels, aimed above all at a female audience, by the meritoriously popular Isabel Wolff. This variety could be seen as a way of comforting each individual in his or her place or «path». Everyone? Perhaps not. On the contrary, it would seem that while the field of unexpected human interaction has certainly expanded in literature, its internal influence, through the depth of its characters and the quality of its descriptions, has diminished. As a result, its appeal to the public has lost some of its force. A brief review of some serious shortcomings, without any personal attacks - we're past that.