A Steady Diet of Comfort Literature: The Fastest Road to Mediocrity

Job pressures, an endless to-do list, ugly news, an unloving partner, frustrating and often unfulfilling parenthood—what’s the solution? Tuck into comfort literature, watch a favourite show or series. Comfort entertainment comes with a fantasy world peopled by fairies, werewolves, vampires, anthropomorphic stuffed animals, magical objects, ghosts, witches, and wizards. All have the power to turn unpaid bills and nasty neighbours into fairy dust, convert bratty kids and ungrateful grandchildren into kind and respectful paragons. In the world of comfort entertainment, kidnappers, murderers, shooters, and rapists will always be defeated by mythical strongmen and women; violent mafia murderers are always on our side; awesome lovers from other solar systems, dimensions, or centuries will whisper, “You’re not alone. You’re lovable.” Comfort entertainment centres on human kindness and connection. It brings a sense of security, underlines humanity’s desire to do good; and it whisks us off to a nostalgic yet wonderfully familiar setting that’s very different from the shopping centre, fast-food joint, super highway scene outside the window. Even better, there’s no tricky grammar and no complicated vocabulary to battle through. So, what’s wrong with it? When individuals and whole societies cling to familiar comforts, they perpetuate mediocrity, limit moral engagement and social responsibility. The more we rely on distractions to escape discomfort, the less tolerant and resilient we become, and the less capable of dealing with frustration. We’re transformed into hypersensitive, hyperreactive people, and any minor setback—spilled coffee, a wrong order in a restaurant, a slow driver, a neighbour’s tree, a delayed flight—turns into high drama. In an era of fake news, surveillance, and political polarization, excellent literature is a weapon. It has the power to challenge and warn, to sharpen our ability to think critically, to analyse, and it gives us a powerful grasp of language. So, let’s continue to read, to question, and engage critically with the world. Comfort literature, sometimes, but also literary works, history, literary travel, classics, satire, and non-fiction. Never stop learning or questioning. They’re the best tools we have. Jill (Arlene) Culiner is the author of Words for Patty Jo