Entertainment/Aesthetic Value vs Message

With its repetitive, grinding, anti-bildungsroman narrative, The Crooked Line raises the question of the extent to which pleasure or entertainment are or should be the motives behind literature.  The book is at times painful to read, sometimes in a very passionate and compelling way, but more often in the "okay, I get it, you're in love with yet another older boy or girl, you're going to be crushed, you have overwhelming emotions" frustrating way.  The Crooked Line has clearly garnered critical praise and academic study, as it doubtless deserves, but all this raises the question: is Chughtai writing for academics, knowing that an audience of reflective critics will tease apart her motives and arguments, or writing for a wider audience?