Do you have a book that literally changed the course of your life? I’d love to know about yours.
Well I don’t, but this book is as close as it gets for me.
Warning: This is not a review. It’s a long rant of how I got into reading literature and how I almost did a degree in English literature (but no I obviously didn’t).
I read my mom’s copy of this book when I was in high school (which was half a lifetime ago). I was obviously too young and inexperienced to fully understand the book, but the book contained mom’s notes from her English literature courses, and I was absolutely absorbed and amazed - how one (seemingly simple) sentence could contain so much meaning, hidden messages and symbolism.
(Sometimes I also wonder if maybe the sky is just red because the sun is setting and maybe it’s not a foreshadowing of anything and people are just over-analyzing it. But that’s the beauty of reading - it allows you to use your imagination and interpretation. It’s a subjective and unique and personal experience - even for the same reader reading at different times in their life.)
Anyways, long story short, this book literally made me consider pursuing a degree in English literature. That was short lived as I couldn’t figure out a career path with that degree, so I ended up sticking with my original plan - which was a law degree. (Now I work in the legal field, in case you didn’t know.)
Fast forward more than a decade later, I picked up a new copy of this book, just because the experience has stuck with me and I wanted to reread it with a more experienced and educated mind (mom’s had unfortunately been destroyed by termites).
A book about existentialism is probably gonna either break or save me at this point in my life, so I’ve been putting it off for some time.
Now that @readeryhq Readery Podcast has an episode on this book, I think it’s time to pick it up. I’ll read it and formulate my own opinions before listening, and I’m excited.
If you’ve read it, let me know your thoughts. If not, I’d definitely recommend. It’s probably not gonna be an easy read and maybe it’s not for everyone, but it’s something I’d like you to explore.
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