First Love, Last Rites

The argument

You should read First Love, Last Rites because of the macabre and uncomfortable nature of the stories. During the pandemic, morbidly curious individuals have shown higher interests in darker genres. First Love, Last Rites dives deep into the world of dark fiction. The horrific and gruesome situations that McEwan describes coincides well with the morbid interest of his audience. People should read entertaining books while self-isolating because they provide a form of escape. First Love, Last Rites provides an entertaining form of morbid escapism. Fiction is an entertaining escape from reality. As a collection of short stories, the reader is provided with multiple experiences of escapism. This allows the reader to have variety without becoming bored by long, drawn-out stories. First Love, Last Rites challenges the reader's minds through the dark and sinister imagination present in the stories. It causes the reader to question the motives of the most despicable people. As the reader progresses through the stories, they become increasingly uncomfortable by the images McEwan describes. It puts readers in the minds of immoral minds and contemplates what drives people to terrible things. This contemplation provides the ideal escape from reality.

Premises

Counter-arguments

People who are not morbidly curious did not show a significantly higher interest in morbid and scary entertainment. Therefore, those that are not interested in morbidly curious subjects may be unsettled by the stories in First Love, Last Rites. There has also been an increase in the sale of romance novels during the pandemic. Therefore, not all people are interested in dark fiction as a distraction.

Rejecting the premises

[Rejecting P1] The trend claim is unsourced, and it selects its audience. A general recommendation about what people should read while isolating cannot rest on the preferences of those already drawn to the macabre, and the counter notes the contrary movement over the same period, a marked rise in sales of romance fiction. [Rejecting P2] Escapism and discomfort are asked to do incompatible jobs. The premise recommends the collection as an escape while also describing it as increasingly uncomfortable and preoccupied with cruelty — a description that fits a demanding read rather than a relief from a stressful period. [Rejecting P3] The final step offers a claim about literary merit as though it were advice, and the position it is filed under is short stories generally, for which the case would have to concern the form rather than one 1975 collection. Recommending stories dealing with violence and abuse to a general readership during a period of heightened distress also warrants the qualification the argument never gives.