Quote:
Originally Posted by HarryT
Half the problem, though, is that we put children off great literature for life by forcing them to read what are very definitely NOT children's books before they're able to appreciate them.
It will come as no great surprise to many people that one of my favourite authors is Dickens. Like every other British schoolchild I was force-fed Dickens at school and HATED his books. It was only when I was in my late 30s that I rediscovered him and learned to love his books for the great literature that they are. You just can't appreciate Dickens' biting social satire when you're a teenager (or at least I couldn't).
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Amen, brother! I was force-fed Great Expectations, which put me off Dickens until my 30s as well. Then, somehow, I stumbled on Pickwick and it was off to the races. I binged on Dickens for the next year or so. I still think that the first chapter of Bleak House is one of the best things I've ever read.