So I'll start this by admitting I have very little formal education in Literature. I did the required exams at school and have not pursued any further education on the subject. I have, since leaving school, read an abundance of books, many of which are considered classics and part of the literature canon.
So when I've read these books, which have been critically praised and survived decades or centuries, two things have struck me. The first is often I approach these books with very little knowledge of them. I don't know their places in the timeline or what they did to be remembered, to earn their special place as a classic. The other thing is, I often have to reach my own conclusions and my own interpretations. I'm not sure how I'm supposed to read these books, what the themes are or what the author is trying to say - I have to get there myself. Naturally, knowing that I don't know anything brings a lot of doubt into it. Am I getting the most out of this pastime? Am I anywhere near the mark? Am I an idiot trying to convince myself that I an appreciate literature and books? (I do a lot more research these days than I used to, and it is paying off in dividends).
So I saw this book and picked it up immediately. It was time for a lesson.
Firstly, this book was easy to understand. You do not have to be a high brow literature expert to follow Terry's explanation and the flow of the information. It helps to have a grasp on the famous books, there a plenty of name drops and references to classics, but it won't hinder your understanding of the lessons here. Anytime Terry wants to dig into a particular text, he has either quoted directly what he wants to comment on, or has written a synopsis for the whole book. No need to read Great Expectations, Terry has told us the story and analysed it for us, so leave that one on the shelf.
It must be said there are one or two spoilers here. Most notably Lolita by Nabokov. Maybe Terry thinks the books he spoils are so old and well known that every reader is already familiar with the basic stories. Or perhaps more forgivably, Terry had to include some spoilers to give us the whole lesson. This seems reasonable to me.
Terry's writing is for the layman, and very funny. This could have so easily been a real drag, and a chance for Terry to show us all how clever he is. But he resists showing us he's smart. He explains things to us understanding that we have a brain, and he manages to teach in a way that isn't condescending. I read another book on literature just before I started this blog which spent a good chapter or two sneering at book prizes and best sellers, saying they were just popular books and shouldn't be given any consideration. There is none of that here - Terry seems to be happy that people are taking an interest in reading. He debates value at the end of the book, and tells us there are many reasons a book might have value - whether it is imagination or creativity or realism or the prose itself. Any book can have value, not just the classics.
There were two bits that were a little cringe inducing. One was a fairly minor joke about God having an attention lapse and letting Michael Jackson slip into existence. It was strikingly irrelevant and came across as trying a bit too hard to be funny. Also, the book spends a fair while analysing Baa Baa Black Sheep. Maybe this was a useful lesson, but it felt like a new teacher trying to be really funny and creative but it came across as a bit cliched and tired. Also there is a small criticism of John Updike, who's work I personally really enjoy, so a small personal gripe there.
Other than these small shortcomings, this book was worthwhile. It gave me a deeper understanding of what I should be reading for, and the ideas I should be thinking. Hopefully you'll see an improvement here on future posts. Obviously, this doesn't touch on any sort of formal education, but for an every man who wants his reading to be enriched, this is a good guide.
0 comments:
Post a Comment