This excerpt at Cultural Offering of the Joe Queenan article on books sparked some thoughts.
I tried reading Atlas Shrugged years ago but, despite liking the John Galt concept, could not get through it. Since then, I've met people who treat the book as a quasi-religious object. Go figure.
What is especially enjoyable, however, is to find a writer who lives up to the hype. I'd certainly put Shakespeare and Tolstoy in that realm. I also read Thackeray's Vanity Fair with a big smile.
It can be sad to re-read a book that was enjoyed in one's youth and wonder, "What did I see in this?" but at the same time, there is the grand pleasure of re-reading a book and liking it even more.
We may read some books too early. Classics are often wasted on the young.
2 comments:
"Classics are wasted on the young." I could not possibly agree with this more. The truly great classics, yes Tolstoy is one of the very best, reveal and discuss human nature and how the world works. When I was young I was clueless about these things, and it has taken years before I could start to appreciate the truths found in such works.
Dan,
I discovered that while re-reading "Moby Dick." I was young when I read it the first time and missed a great deal of the humor as well as the power of many scenes.
Michael
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