To be skeptical toward works of literature is not only necessary, but very healthy. To completely dismiss the whole medium as unable to portray even a facet of real life, on the other hand, is quite disingenuous. Literature, or even just text at its most basic, has been for the longest time the easiest vehicle for the average dude to get his message spread as far and wide as possible, since beyond being literate, which most of the modern world is, albeit at different levels, now there are no more entry costs to it, not even that of printing, thanks to the web. Check out the very idea of the samizdats if you believe reality is kept away from being publicized or published.