I find it difficult to read a novel more than once. Usually, it feels like working the same crossword puzzle a second time. The first time is magical and full of discovery, but after that, you know all the secrets, all the rabbit trails. Not much new to discover in your average novel the second time around.
But there are a few . . . stories that beckon me away from new reading.
Just this week, I picked up The Thirteenth Tale for the third time. I resisted the call for several weeks—the writing must come first, I’d say. It’s a haunting story told by a woman obsessed with “story” to a woman obsessed with books. I’m only on chapter two this time around, but instead of knowing what’s coming, I find myself anxious to enter the world I remember which doesn’t come into play for another thirty pages or so. And I’ve already found new perspective on the characters.
One fascinating item about this book is the ambiguity of time and place. It seems like a gothic/romantic novel, but certain details suggest it could be modern. The story within the story takes place in a further distant past, which also could be gothic, or modern because the setting is pastoral. The author never tells the reader “when” the story takes place. This may sound like a definite mistake, but it works for this novel because the ambiguity serves as transport between my world and the world in the story.
And I want to go back . . .
What novels have you read more than once? Why did you? Click on “comment” below and let’s chat.
Well, I'm definitely the same way. I rarely pick up a book more than once unless it is to reference some turn of phrase or descriptive passage I remember as particularly striking.
ReplyDeleteThis fall, however, I've been listening my way back through the Harry Potter books, this time on my iPod. I didn't take a linear path like most might...instead, I picked the books that I remembered least about, book 5, Order of the Phoenix, and book 3, "Prisoner of Azkaban." I am struck by how completely enchanting these stories are-- how even when I remember what has happened, there is so much detail that the ins and outs of each scene feel brand new every time. I found myself putting my headphones on for my morning walk, taking them off for a shower, but keeping them on the rest of the time until I was in my office with someone knocking at the door. That's how good we're talking the second time around.
I've also noticed new things. Having read the entire series, knowing the way the story plays out in the end, I can see and understand things from the initial reading that likely just flew right over my head. I've realized this I how I read books that are so compelling--voraciously. I can't get enough, to the point where I sacrifice my observation of detail and artistry. I don't think that's all bad, though. Is there anything more pleasurable, truly, than to be swept up in a story so compelling that nothing else seems to matter, when every other thing you might be occupied with day to day becomes secondary to an imaginary world? Love it.
I have a few books that I love to reread, and it's to catch those nuances I didn't see the first time, to read something that had deeper meaning and go, "Wow!"
ReplyDeleteI love Siri Mitchell's Chateau of Echoes, Francine River's A Voice in the Wind, To Kill a Mockingbird, The Great Gatsby, Vienna Prelude by Bodie Thoene (read that 7 times I think).
My two top favorite rereads are Shogun, by James Clavell, and Lonesome Dove, by Larry McMurtry.
ReplyDeleteBoth books take me to another dimension and the characters are like old friends.
Another favorite is The Hobbit by Tolkien. I go around for weeks after saying "Never laugh at live dragons, Bilbo you fool!"