Trusting the Reader--and the characters

historical and cultural context that needs less explaining

I recently read a very popular book in which historical and cultural context felt wedged in. I kept thinking things like this feels like someone said “put as many of the things from ‘We Didn’t Start the Fire’ as you can in this book'“ or as though the book had been written with a reader who had no familiarity with history—like none—and needed all the context clues.