Renowned Mexican novelist and essayist Carlos Fuentes once said something about the function of novels in contemporary society that still strikes a chord with authors today. According to him, novels are a special kind of storytelling that can effectively communicate difficult feelings and concepts in ways that are difficult for other media to match.

Fuentes lived through a time when information consumption was changing quickly, with newspapers, radio, and television taking over as the main news and entertainment outlets. This change sparked debate about whether novels would continue to be important to society or if these new mass media would eclipse them. Novels, according to Fuentes, had a unique quality; they were like deep wells that could extract the subtleties of human experience, whereas other forms of media might be more like swift streams that swiftly convey information.

According to him, the novel is a medium that permits reflection and in-depth study of characters and environments. It can explore the complexities of interpersonal relationships and the nuances of social issues in ways that news reports or television dramas just cannot. The book provides a close-up view of people's lives in larger historical contexts, allowing readers to become fully immersed in the story.

Fuentes was promoting the ongoing value of novels as a storytelling and cultural expression medium when he made this statement. He wanted to underline that novels have a special place in literature because of their capacity to thoroughly explore themes and ideas, even though other media may be more immediate or accessible.

His remarks are representative of a larger debate among authors regarding how narrative fiction can flourish in the face of evolving technological environments. Fuentes thought that the novel could still be an art form that immerses readers in worlds where they could discover deep meanings or emotional connections, even in the face of the popularity of alternative storytelling techniques.