Quote:
Originally Posted by beppe
in music, being familiar with the expressions of a particular composer or performer, increases enjoyment.
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Hmmm - I guess I'm just the opposite. I'm a musician myself and the one thing I hold about music is that other than the fact that the composer created the music, I find him/her/them rather irrelevant to the enjoyment of the music.
On the other hand, there are many ways to enjoy music much like there are many ways to enjoy literature, so I don't think it's a black and white thing.
Another example. When I studied German at university, it was compulsory for me to study subjects in German history, German linguistics and German literature as well studying the German language itself. This is what drove me in the end to ditching university altogether as it clearly was not my thing. These other subjects did not add to my appreciation or enjoyment of learning the language, they just filled me with resentment that my course was becoming cluttered with subjects I would not have chosen just to be able to speak German.
I'm not saying that they weren't good for other reasons. I experienced Kafka and Mann in German literature and I thoroughly enjoyed them - but it didn't help me speak German, the books were in English anyway.
I think surrounding/related studies - whether it be in literature, music, language etc... can be valuable in their own right, can help you understand your core interest a little better, can even enhance your enjoyment. But I don't think it necessarily holds true for all people at all times.
Going back to this book, I am somewhat interested in reading further about this style of story telling as I found it a bit like a puzzle that I feel I had only partly solved on my own. I do tend to think there's something more to get out of it - to enjoy. I don't feel like that about every book (classic or not), but this one has piqued my curiosity.
It hasn't hurt that I work with a Russian who swears it's the greatest piece of Russian literature ever written.
