Why we’re in love with literary angst

From tear-in-the-rain heartbreak to existential quiet, bleaker classics are finding a new, eager audience.

Remember when reading heavy meant dragging yourself through dense tomes? Nowadays, bleakness has become chic. The recent surge in interest around titles such as White Nights by Fyodor Dostoevsky and Madonna in a Fur Coat by Sabahattin Ali is showing us something more profound about why readers gravitate toward literary angst.