« Why has Randall Munroe been following me around? | Main | Learning from the Town Halls »
August 12, 2009
Revisiting Books
In seventh grade we were assigned to choose a mystery novel, then present a report on it to the class. Since I was, even then, a snob, I chose Smilla's Sense of Snow, which Time Magazine had called the Best Book of 1993.
Unfortunately, I only made it through 150 pages before giving up and reading an Agatha Christie novel, which was probably more suited to my reading level (and which had a much more likable protagonist.)
A few weeks ago, I picked up another copy of my original choice and decided to give it another go. This led to the interesting sensation of total familiarity with all the exposition I had read 15 years ago, but very little of the action. So when I read about Smilla's childhood in Greenland, it fit comfortably with all my old impressions of her life; but when she set sail on a mysterious voyage to the north Atlantic, I suddenly found myself having to make a similar transition alongside her: away from the familiar and towards the unknown. Her perspective was almost totally aligned with mine, and the adventure she undertakes contrasts with her daily life as sharply for me as it does for her.
I'm not sure how exactly one could replicate this experience short of reading the first hundred pages of a mystery, then setting it aside for a decade or so. Perhaps it's akin to reading about Harry Potter's time at Hogwarts over a seven year period and facing the same intoxicating sense of urgency that Harry feels to see how the whole thing will turn out. In either case, it's quite a pleasant feeling, and I recommend it heartily if you can find a way to make it work.
Posted by Drew at August 12, 2009 04:04 PM