What do you believe makes the novel, as an art form, universal? How does the depiction of a particular time and place fit into this idea of universality?
I suppose what makes the novel universal, if it is truly so, is that it is about humans, and we are all humans. From my recent research into evolutionary theory, Im tempted to say that even cows and dogs might find the novel universal, if we could find a way to communicate one to them. Given that we are all shaped by the same basic forces, essentially animal forces, anything that speaks to these is going to strike a chord with people. That is what novels primarily do, I thinkthey speak to our most basic motivations and drives, giving a shape to them that no straightforward analysis or description could ever quite capture. The question of time and place does seem a bit thorny in this light, but maybe only superficially so. In my own work, time and place are central, I would say, and I think that is the case in the writing I most admire. I suppose we respond to the particular in literature because we live in the particular, and need to feel rooted in some sort of credible world in order
