I belong to an online book club that just finished a most sublime book. I wrote about it a few posts ago:
We have been discussing this book a bit this week and we all agree on how engrossing it was even for those of us who are not particularly musical or inclined toward such pursuits. We all still connected to this book through the thoughtful and provoking characters. One character in particular seemed to lead our minds in certain yet varied directions. It takes a truly gifted author to bring together people in love and admiration of the written word.
One of my personal favorite authors tends to incite a wide range of reactions.
hike-n-books.blogspot.com
I love Ayn Rand's fiction. The Fountainhead is and will always be on the top of my book recommendations for anyone. Rand gets a lot of crap for her polical views and the modern interpretation of such philosophy, but I think to write her off without any exploration is missing an opportunity to fully realize another point of view. While the character of Howard can come across as cold and callous, he's also an example of knowing when some relationships no longer fulfill you. Even close family relationships can not be fulfilling to sustain. I know this from interacting with actual people mind you, but Rand's protagonists make you think about the very nature of the relationships you cultivate. You must consider what you believe to be true and just and essential for living. Your conclusion on that rumination might not be mainstream or or popular, but you reasoned it out and you reached that conclusion through careful consideration. In my mind, that's essential to appreciating Ayn Rand just as it is essential in studying the transcendentalists. It's truly the lesson I took from this novel.
Another of my favorites could easily be relegated to the vampire genre and left there without any further grappling. That too would be wrong because of the host of richly composed and deeply considered tales she brings to the world.
wikimedia.com
Rice is a master of imagery. When I read her novels I am completely transported to not only another place and time, but another reality altogether where supernatural beings are possible. I believe that supernatural tales allow us to delve into what makes us truly human. The world of monsters takes our weaknesses, our insecurities, and our terrors and throws them back at us until we either flee or accept what is most vulnerable about ourselves. Humans are capable of the same brutality, heartlessness, or compassion of any one of Rice's monsters. I truly respect her investigation and research into history to craft her narratives. Her novels are ones that I watch for release dates because I am just that much of a fan.
Then there are the classics like the grim and sordid E. A. Poe. Again, you have supernatural elements and human beings at their absolute worst. However, he was brilliant in his frail, complicated, egotistical and love-lorn way. I cannot help but feel complete pity for the man whose life was nothing but one big shit-fuck-stack. Beware that the link is not suitable for work. Anyway, without Poe we would have had to wait for the detective novel. Without Poe we'd be without this:
Poe went deep into our subconsciousness and exposed the rawness of our being with his stories. Whether we liked what he found or not, he makes us face what horrors lie within the human psyche.
I guess that is why I am so passionate about literature and why I miss it being a part of my daily employ. It offered me a way to connect to those who I work with every day. It allowed me to open their minds a little bit to the world outside so that they could begin to contemplate for themselves. Without literature and without me guiding and questioning, I wonder how many will ever take the time.
It fills me with great sadness to think that they won't.
I must believe that they will find those stories to inspire, to challenge, to frighten and to uplift. I miss being a part of the discovery though.
No comments:
Post a Comment