I'm from anengineering backgrounds as well. I think the reason fictions fascinates people is that often they reveal something about a world which most readers would have never experienced in. It is not easy for someone growing up in a newly developed places like Hong Kong to vision what life was like for the upper class aristocrats in pre-WWII Britain was like. And reading Anthony Powell's A Dance to the Music of Time achieves precisely that.
Having said this, I personally think fictions probably reveal far more about the biases of the author himself/herself than the environment he/she was talking about. A British author writing a novel about a mid-19th century Russian peasant probably reveals far more about his own worldview towards Russia, and secondly 19th century world, then what was really the case with the real life 19th century Russia.
I think you are probably right, but the quality of that experience is highly questionable. In order to determine if that information is valid, you still need to consult non-fiction.
It is not easy for someone growing up in a newly developed places like Hong Kong to vision what life was like for the upper class aristocrats in pre-WWII Britain was like. And reading Anthony Powell's A Dance to the Music of Time achieves precisely that.
Seriously, how do you know that? It might be accurate, and then it might not. Maybe it's a little of both, but you'll never know which is which. After all, it's all made up. Don't get me wrong, I like a good story as much as the next guy. What I object to is such questionable information going into public policy.