I take a "healthy culture" to mean one in which the relationship between books enjoys a certain autonomy. In the minds of readers, books enter conversation with each other in many languages and many ways. Such conversations go beyond the question of "influence." The relationship between "Hamlet" and "Don Quixote" is not one of influence. Nor does it boil down to one or two key ingredients, for instance, "madness" or "the Fool."
