"book inflation"

The Guardian view on lengthening books: read them and weep

“We occasionally felt that inside the book we read was a better one – sometimes a thinner one – wildly signalling to be let out,” said Kwame Anthony Appiah, their chairman.

Most readers can empathise, and may feel that the word “occasionally” was tactful. One book survey found that the average number of pages had increased from 320 to 400 pages between 1999 and 2014. Some think that the shift to digital formats has contributed, not least in removing the fear of being crushed beneath your duvet by your bedtime reading. Val McDermid, another of the judges, cited the inexperience of editors; commercial pressures which deny them the time they need to spend on books; and the unwillingness of writers to listen. The phenomenon of “book inflation” over careers has been noted: the last part of Karl Ove Knausgård’s My Struggle runs to almost 1,200 pages, and Paul Auster’s most recent novel 4321 is almost as long as his previous three books put together. The approving may credit increased boldness and mastery of material. The unimpressed blame growing authorial egos.