There is a self-help epidemic in the world of literature. Self-help books line the shelves of bookstores and inundate passersby with their catchy titles and colorful covers. They make a bold claim: Read me, and your life will be better. Unfortunately, self-help books can’t even begin to offer people what they need.

But classic novels can.

Self-help books and their bulleted lists falsely promise the secrets of life in 300 pages or less for just $17.99. This literary trend profits from our cultural obsession with self-optimization. Self-improvement is a $51 billion global industry that feeds on this obsession, as evidenced by $387 ...