Why we need to read and understand literature: literariness andHans Rosling’s Factfulness 2018

My article addresses the qualities of good literature and how an understanding ofthe nature of literary devices, so-called literariness , can enhance the readingexperience. Focusing on Hans Rosling’s Factfulness (2018), I discuss some of themost important features of good writing. Six literary devices have been selected forspecial attention: point of view, tone, amplification, anecdotes, flashbacks, andparallelism. Factfulness is not only good writing, it carries an important message: [w]hen we have a fact-based window, we can see that the world is not as bad as itseems – and we can see what we have to do to keep making it better (p. 255).Rosling emphasises the importance of knowing the facts about our planet, andrelying on these rather than primitive instincts to make assessments and decisions.The elegance of Rosling’s language makes the message not only convincing but alsopalatable.

Keywords:

Literariness , Good Writing , Factfulness , and Instincts