When is Enough Enough?

I had a curious experience a few months ago with a novel selected for my book club. It was written by a woman I knew, though only slightly, and we had invited the author to attend our discussion. I turned to reading the book with high expectations. Disappointment set in quickly. I found myself quite lost in a maze of characters and history that I seemed to be expected to know but that hadn’t yet been presented to me. “What’s wrong with me?” I kept asking myself as I slogged through. (If I had...