What makes a good book?
Answer by Mathijs Sanders, Professor of Modern Dutch Literature at the University of Groningen
A good book evokes a world that, while different from the day-to-day reality of the reader, the reader feels drawn to. In a good book, life and love, desires and fears are made palpable through the style and voice of the narrator.
To the question what makes a good book, there are at least three types of answers. First, what someone thinks is a good book depends on the views on literature held by the reader or group of readers. This opinion on what is or should be good literature is called poetics. For example, someone who thinks a novel should reflect contemporary societal reality as realistically as possible holds a different view of literature than someone who likes fairy tales or fantasy. Or, a reader or book club especially interested in the lives of famous people will prefer to choose a biography or autobiography rather than a made-up story. And, those who like classical, regular, and rhyming poetry will not readily reach for a collection of poems with experimental verses.
A second answer is of a more institutional nature: good books are books to which authoritative readers and institutions, such as publishers, reviewers, teachers, and members of literary juries, attach meaning and value. Their decisions to publish, discuss, teach, and award a prize to a book determine the value assigned to a book in a society. This, according to the field theory of French cultural sociologist Pierre Bourdieu, is mainly about symbolic value, although it can of course be converted into a financial value, for example when favourable reviews boost sales of a book or when a literary prize involves a lot of money.
A third answer is that the value of a book is determined by an individual reader’s personal taste, preferences, and repertoire (all the books they have previously read). Personally, I like books that do not confirm what I already know and believe, but that confront me with a world of imagination that is strange and often disturbing; books that challenge my own ideas about literature and the world. I like books that allow for many different interpretations rather than forcing one specific interpretation on the reader, and that in this way re-energizes the readers’ thinking.
Who is Mathijs Sanders?
Mathijs Sanders is Professor of Modern Dutch Literature at the University of Groningen. He researches international literary relations in the twentieth century and contemporary poetry. His most recent book is Boekhouders van de vergankelijkheid. Late stijl in nieuwe poëzie [Transitory accountants. Late style in new poetry] (Ghent, 2024).
UG Lustrum:
Celebrate 410 years of science with us!
This campaign is part of the University of Groningen Lustrum in 2024. The University of Groningen will then have been in existence for 410 years.
