The Novel's Decline Reflects Social Fragmentation in Contemporary Literature

Christian Caliandro's reflections on Artribune examine the crisis of the novel as symptomatic of deeper social transformations. Originating alongside the bourgeoisie's rise in the 17th-18th centuries, the novel functioned as a mirror for this class, representing its conflicts, ambitions, and contradictions while maintaining faith in progress. According to Georg Lukács, the modern novel emerged from a fractured world where individuals became separated from reality, yet it remained within the formal koinè of bourgeois society. After World War II, this equilibrium shattered as society fragmented, collective identities weakened, and plural subjectivities emerged. The cultural industry imposed a shift in register, moving away from traditional novels toward isolated "narrations" that reflect contemporary social fragmentation. These works, often artistically refined, fail to generate shared imaginaries or contribute to collective worldviews. Domenico Ioppolo concludes that without community, literature loses its foundational function, existing instead in dispersed, individual forms. Contemporary narrative now manifests through cinema, fiction series, social media, and video games rather than written pages. The article references works by A. Negri, A. Asor Rosa, and R. Scholes with R. Kellogg, while recommending their book "La natura della narrativa."