Quote:
Originally Posted by neilmarr
Funny you should mention that, Ea. When I was a teenager, I read over and over *Earth Abides*. Thought it was terrific ('keen' was the in-word for good in the UK at the time). When I mentioned here at MR that I'd love to read it again to see if it had the same impact, one of our pals sent me an ebook copy. Stayed awake all night to read it. Coming up half a century after the first time, it still gripped me from start to finish. Just so perfectly rounded and satisfying. Although it broke new ground in 1949, *Earth Abides* must be one of the most underrated SF pieces of all time. Cheers. Neil
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What a wonderful experience
It reminds me... The first English language book I read was E. M. Forster's "Maurice" when I was 16 (really wanted to read it and couldn't get in Danish so I was motivated). Really "heavy" language for a 16-year old Dane. Then I found a short story collection by Forster (The Life to Come) and tried to read that as well. It went
completely over my head. I read it again about ten years later, and suddenly it made sense. I believe we have to "grow into" some books. That's why I'm keeping Thomas Mann on my bookshelf - I think I need to grow up a bit more, yet.
In an essey collection of Robertson Davies, "The Merry Heart", there is a nice essay on reading for pleasure; "A Rake at Reading".