Today, love is being positivized into a formula for enjoyment. Above all, love is supposed to generate pleasant feelings. It no longer represents plot, narration, or drama—only inconsequential emotion and arousal. It is free from the negativity of injury, assault, or crashing. To fall (in love) would already be too negative. Yet it is precisely

... See more

This is how love works—you may begin for pure reasons, or egocentric and performative reasons, but in the end it has to be earnest. Our lives are short. We should read what we love and spend time with those we love. And if the world is full of writers who can model a kind of “reverse poptimism,” an unfeigned enthusiasm for the greatest works—then,... See more