{"id":556,"date":"2017-03-15T07:00:42","date_gmt":"2017-03-15T07:00:42","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/urbanvolcano.net\/en\/?p=556"},"modified":"2025-03-30T13:18:51","modified_gmt":"2025-03-30T13:18:51","slug":"purpose-of-fiction","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/urbanvolcano.net\/en\/purpose-of-fiction\/","title":{"rendered":"Purpose of fiction"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<aside class=\"other-formats\">Other formats: <a title=\"Purpose of fiction (PDF)\" href=\"https:\/\/urbanvolcano.net\/ebooks\/en\/pdf\/purpose-of-fiction.pdf\">PDF<\/a> | <a title=\"Falta de utilidad (espa\u00f1ol)\" href=\"https:\/\/urbanvolcano.net\/es\/falta-de-utilidad\/\">espa\u00f1ol<\/a> | <a title=\"Tilgangsleysi (\u00edslenska)\" href=\"https:\/\/urbanvolcano.net\/is\/tilgangsleysi\/\">\u00edslenska<\/a><\/aside>\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-image is-resized\">\n<figure class=\"alignright size-medium\"><a href=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/urbanvolcano.net\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/03\/W11.png?ssl=1\"><img data-recalc-dims=\"1\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"300\" height=\"300\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/urbanvolcano.net\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/03\/W11.png?resize=300%2C300&#038;ssl=1\" alt=\"Purpose of fiction \u2014 Illustration by B\u00f6rkur Sigurbj\u00f6rnsson\" class=\"wp-image-917\" srcset=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/urbanvolcano.net\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/03\/W11.png?resize=300%2C300&amp;ssl=1 300w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/urbanvolcano.net\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/03\/W11.png?resize=150%2C150&amp;ssl=1 150w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/urbanvolcano.net\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/03\/W11.png?resize=768%2C768&amp;ssl=1 768w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/urbanvolcano.net\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/03\/W11.png?resize=1024%2C1024&amp;ssl=1 1024w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/urbanvolcano.net\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/03\/W11.png?w=1025&amp;ssl=1 1025w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px\" \/><\/a><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Illustration by B\u00f6rkur Sigurbj\u00f6rnsson<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n<p>\u201cI have completely stopped reading works of fiction,\u201d said my colleague as the conversation moved on to the topic of reading. \u201cI mean. What is the purpose?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>I contemplated if I should express my view that it was indeed the lack of purpose that made works of fiction so interesting and enjoyable. In the end I decided to just nod my head and smile. It was much more interesting to debate the topic with myself in my mind rather than trying to sow creative seeds in the infertile mind of my \u00fcber-rational colleague.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<aside class=\"wp-block-group book-ad has-text-color has-background\" style=\"color:#000000;background-color:#65aab1\"><div class=\"wp-block-group__inner-container is-layout-flow wp-block-group-is-layout-flow\">\n<div class=\"wp-block-media-text is-stacked-on-mobile\" style=\"grid-template-columns:33% auto\"><figure class=\"wp-block-media-text__media\"><img data-recalc-dims=\"1\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1024\" height=\"1348\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/urbanvolcano.net\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/02\/Flash_52.png?resize=1024%2C1348&#038;ssl=1\" alt=\"Flash 52 \u2014 Cover by Ana Pi\u00f1eyro\" class=\"wp-image-1294 size-full\" srcset=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/urbanvolcano.net\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/02\/Flash_52.png?w=1024&amp;ssl=1 1024w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/urbanvolcano.net\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/02\/Flash_52.png?resize=228%2C300&amp;ssl=1 228w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/urbanvolcano.net\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/02\/Flash_52.png?resize=778%2C1024&amp;ssl=1 778w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/urbanvolcano.net\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/02\/Flash_52.png?resize=768%2C1011&amp;ssl=1 768w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/urbanvolcano.net\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/02\/Flash_52.png?resize=900%2C1185&amp;ssl=1 900w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/urbanvolcano.net\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/02\/Flash_52.png?resize=500%2C658&amp;ssl=1 500w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" \/><\/figure><div class=\"wp-block-media-text__content\">\n<h4 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Flash 52<\/h4>\n\n\n\n<p>This piece of flash fiction appeared in the flash fiction collection Flash 52.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>If you enjoyed the story, we encourage you to support the publication by buying a copy of the book. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><em>Flash 52<\/em> is available as paperbacks from <a href=\"https:\/\/www.amazon.co.uk\/dp\/9935933741\">Amazon<\/a> and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.barnesandnoble.com\/w\/flash-52-b-rkur-sigurbj-rnsson\/1127580259\">Barnes and Noble<\/a> and e-books from <a href=\"https:\/\/www.amazon.co.uk\/Flash-52-B%C3%B6rkur-Sigurbj%C3%B6rnsson-ebook\/dp\/B077SXHPPW\">Kindle Store<\/a>,  <a href=\"https:\/\/books.apple.com\/us\/book\/flash-52\/id1318217780\">Apple Books<\/a>, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.kobo.com\/us\/en\/ebook\/flash-52\">Kobo<\/a>, and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.storytel.com\/in\/books\/flash-52-2028503\">Storytel<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>You can also support the author through <a href=\"https:\/\/patreon.com\/UrbanVolcano\">Patreon<\/a> and <a href=\"https:\/\/buymeacoffee.com\/borkur\">Buy Me a Coffee<\/a> or by rating the book on <a title=\"Flash fiction collection Flash 52 on Goodreads\" href=\"https:\/\/www.goodreads.com\/book\/show\/36695952-flash-52\">Goodreads<\/a>.<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-buttons is-horizontal is-content-justification-center is-layout-flex wp-container-core-buttons-is-layout-499968f5 wp-block-buttons-is-layout-flex\">\n<div class=\"wp-block-button has-custom-width wp-block-button__width-50\"><a class=\"wp-block-button__link has-text-color has-background wp-element-button\" href=\"https:\/\/urbanvolcano.net\/en\/flash-52\/\" style=\"border-radius:50px;color:#ffffff;background-color:#000000\">book details<\/a><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div><\/aside>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>A flash fiction by B\u00f6rkur Sigurbj\u00f6rnsson. Colleagues discuss the value of fiction at the workplace. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":917,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"advanced_seo_description":"","jetpack_seo_html_title":"","jetpack_seo_noindex":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":false,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[28],"tags":[61,37],"class_list":["post-556","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-flash-fiction","tag-literature","tag-workplace","col-md-6 col-sm-6"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/urbanvolcano.net\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/03\/W11.png?fit=1025%2C1025&ssl=1","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/urbanvolcano.net\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/556","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/urbanvolcano.net\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/urbanvolcano.net\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/urbanvolcano.net\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/urbanvolcano.net\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=556"}],"version-history":[{"count":8,"href":"https:\/\/urbanvolcano.net\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/556\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2248,"href":"https:\/\/urbanvolcano.net\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/556\/revisions\/2248"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/urbanvolcano.net\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/917"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/urbanvolcano.net\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=556"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/urbanvolcano.net\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=556"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/urbanvolcano.net\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=556"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}