A question about important books
This month’s Booklist had an essay talking about reader’s advisory, and at the end of it, it posed an interesting question. Someone is looking at the library’s copy right now, so I will just paraphrase. What would your response be if an older patron came in and said, “I am in the declining years of my life, and I am tired of reading dreck. I want to read beautifully written books that will help me reflect on the years of my life. What are some books that you recommend?”
I can’t think of anything. Well, that’s not true. I can’t think of anything that doesn’t kind of sound pretentious. I have read a lot about the morality in The Brothers Karamazov, so I might recommend that. And War and Peace and Anna Karenina. But those answers sound awfully pretentious. And why do I automatically revert to old Russian novels when I think of deep, important, and beautifully written? The only one of those three that I have actually read is Anna Karenina. I do hope to re-read it one day (who was the genius who let me read Anna Karenina at the age of 13?) and I own a copy of The Brothers Karamazov. I suppose I am waiting for inspiration to suddenly hit or the book to read itself. (Or maybe I am just afraid to start it.)
Some of my favorite books - the Pride and Prejudices and the Gaudy Nights - they have a lot to say about truth and relationships and human motivation, but they still seem to be on the lighter side of things. I don’t read so that I can impress people with my monumental reading list. I read more for escapism, to immerse myself in a story, but “story as truth” has also been a huge influence in the way I learn and see the world. I read to learn and for enjoyment. I carry bits and pieces of the books I’ve read around with me - I call people kindred spirits because of Anne, and I think of Mary Russell when I see a challenge involving bees on The Amazing Race. Trees hit by lightning make me think of Jane Eyre and Mr. Rochester. I see girls interact here at the library, and I wonder which one is the Queen Bee. I think of my favorite rabbit when I see butterflies, and he’s in there with Encyclopedia Brown and Hester Prynne and that last silk dress. Even “story as truth” was stolen from Madeleine L’Engle.
And yet, I seem to believe that none of that is “important” enough to recommend. It’s changed me, it’s changed the way I look at life, but it doesn’t seem good enough for other people.
If I found out right now that I didn’t have much longer left to live, I might reread Anna Karenina. But I would also see if I could get J.K. Rowling to tell me how the Harry Potter series is going to end, and I’d try to read so many of the books that are on my list - recommendations from friends and things I’m curious about. And I’d reread The Velveteen Rabbit and The Lord of the Rings one last time. I might not revisit Bridget Jones, but that doesn’t mean I wasted time reading her, because, thanks to her, I know how many calories are in a banana. And she made me laugh. Not all books are created equal, that’s certainly true. But it’s hard to say which ones are the most important.
How would you answer the question?
September 15th, 2004 at
I dont think there is anything wrong with books that are on the lighter side of life.. life should be the lighter side.. Thats why Saul Bellow and Garrison Keillor have meant so much to me as a reader.. and have meant so much to me as someone who wants to convey my life to others in writing.. they see the deeper things in life through the filter of perspective.. which makes things light.. does that make any sense.. hehe..
anyway.. I would recommend Saul Bellow’s “Herzog” and “Henderson, The Rain King”
and I would recommend Garrison Keillors “Lake Wobegon Summer 1956″ “Happy To Be Here” and “Lake Wobegon Boy”
September 15th, 2004 at
Actually, Kari, I think I would recommend our favorite Madeleine, especially her Crosswick journals… beautifully written, reflective, and most certainly not dreck!
September 15th, 2004 at
Susan, I think I hesitate to recommend her because I love her stuff SO MUCH . . . if someone else reads her per my recommendation and doesn’t enjoy it, I would be crushed.
Also, I don’t tend to recommend non-fiction that talks about theological issues. I would be afraid that she’d be slammed for not being “orthodox” or whatever. Even though I think her work goes far beyond that and has been a huge encouragement to me.
September 15th, 2004 at
hmmm…
i like “soldier of the great war” by mark helprin (although it’s not generally considered a classic.) it’s a story of an older fellow reflecting on his life and i think handles themes like love, growth and mortality with a lot of depth. and it’s just incredibly beautifully written…he has a very lyrical style.
for believers, c.s. lewis’ “till we have faces” is a strong recommendation. one of his later works (he considered it his greatest,) it weaves together many themes from his previous stories and essays with a retelling of an ancient myth. just [b]great[/b] stuff.
i read “the brothers karamazov” a few years back and just hated it. maybe it was too deep for me. i just thought it was incredibly tedious.
September 15th, 2004 at
You’ve never read War & Peace?!?!??!?! You just lost 5 cool point, Kari. That leaves your total at 999,999,995. Tsk tsk.
Seriously, though, W&P is SOO WORTH the 1500 pages (paperback).
September 15th, 2004 at
I keep planning to re-try “Til We Have Faces.” Because I never finished it.
September 15th, 2004 at
I prefer to call “War and Peace,” “War, what is it good for?”
September 15th, 2004 at
I read “Til We Have Faces” on my honeymoon in 1996 and have kept intending to reread it but haven’t yet. I need to. I’d also recommend “The Screwtape Letters”, “Chronicle of Narnia”, “Lord of the Rings”, “The Great Divorce” (all from Lewis & Tolkien); “1984″; Proverbs, Psalms, Luke, and Acts; “To Kill a Mockingbird”, the poetry of William Blake, and many other works that don’t come immediately to mind. TKAMB would be at or very near the top of my list, as would Songs of Innocence & Experience by Blake.
September 15th, 2004 at
I would have mentioned To Kill a Mockingbird, but I did a long post about it on the rumor forum a few months ago, and I didn’t want to over-mockingbird everyone. hehe. Seriously, though, that’s one of the best. It gets exponentially better each time I read it.
September 15th, 2004 at
I concur with Trey’s recommendation of Lake Wobegon, Summer 1956. That’s a great book about growing old.
September 16th, 2004 at
well Im glad someone agrees with me.. my books got passed over like easter…
September 16th, 2004 at
I never finished Lake Wobegon 1956 because of some rather vulgar scenes at the beginning, but I might have to give it another try. Lake Wobegon Boy is, however, my favorite book of all time and would be recommended swiftly.
September 16th, 2004 at
Alex Haley’s Roots. I don’t care how historically inaccurate it is, I love it and I think it gives us a sense of the bigger picture as it traces Kunta Kinte’s family line.
September 17th, 2004 at
I concur with Jason’s Lake Wobegon Boy….and I’d add Fredrick Buechner’s Sacred Journey, my favorite book of all time.
September 17th, 2004 at
oh yay! other people who have read and love til we have faces. i was finally able to read it this summer. i had a small obsession with the harold washington library in chicago this summer and was able to snag their copy. ACTUALLY, i put down the brothers karamazov temporarily to read til we have faces. i love c.s. lewis. i have yet to be disappointed by any of his works. and by the way, completely off topic, but if any of you out there are interested in psychology and christianity…pbs is having the second half of a series called “the question of God” on air wednesday at 8pm central time. it’s about a book written by armand nicholi…a debate between Freud and Lewis’s religious views. hey…maybe that’d be a good book for someone to read. i know i’m going to!