I recently read Sing, Unburied, Sing, the latest novel by Jesmyn Ward. She is a first-rate writer and this book is a gem. But I won’t count it among my favorites because of the graphic violence it contains (there’s also a lot of vomiting).

I’m not one who believes that a novel is more authentic or truthful if it contains violence that is particularly graphic. I understand of course when it’s part of a reality, and I don’t want to deny it’s existence or effect, but no, I don’t want to fill my soul with its images. I am far more intrigued and drawn in by a novel that has unexpected plot twists, dimensional characters, and drama—all of which Sing, Unburied, Sing has also by the way.

I don’t enjoy reading about cruelty or physical harm that people do to each other, especially when it isn’t essential to the plot or leads to no redemption. I’m thinking of The Girls by Emma Cline, a novel I really dislike (though I do like her short stories). There is so much real violence in the world, I don’t want to immerse myself in it with a book.