Recapturing Lost Magic
The New York Times has an article which starts out talking about the kids who are rereading Harry Potter and goes into this:
As it happens, Ms. Colt's mother, Anne Fadiman, has become something of an expert on the rereading phenomenon. Ms. Fadiman, an author and former editor of The American Scholar magazine, is the editor of "Rereadings," a collection of essays on the subject by 17 authors, to be published by Farrar, Straus & Giroux in September. The book resulted from a standing feature in American Scholar, in which writers took another look at books they had loved when they were young.
"I expected the most frequent response to be, 'Gosh, I missed so much the first time around!' " Ms. Fadiman said in an interview. "But the rereading experience turned out more often to be one of loss: the unrecapturable ecstasy of first love. So the tone was often elegiac."
Elegiac, here, an adjective stemming from the word elegiac (the Times is the only newspaper I read where I have to keep my online dictionary open).
Rereading books from your childhood is fascinating to me. I was a compulsive rereader as a kid, I reread some of my comfort romances before I had kids, and now I'm lucky to finish books one time ago, and the TBR pile is like going into a diner and ordering off the 8 page, 8 pt type menu.
My most often reread was 101 Dalmatians by Dodie Smith. We had a mandatory reading time in the 4th grade, and we had to pick off the bookshelf in the room. I reread this book probably 40 times, and will never forget that Perdita means 'lost'. I'm not sure if I'd try and reread it again. I loved the Chronicles of Narnia (can't wait for the movie), and reread the Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe as a child, as a teenager (I did my high school thesis on the allegorical aspects of the series), and lastly as an adult, when I admired the word-play of the author.
Favorite romance reread was Ravished by Garwood.
Have you tried to reread a book you loved as kid? Does it survive well, or are you slipping into elegiac mournfulness?
posted by Kathleen at 8:33 AM
6 Comments:
I re-read many books that I have read as an adult at one time or another, but never thought to go back and re-read books I loved as a kid. One in particular that I would love to read with adult eyes and understanding is Bridge to Terabithia. It had a huge impact on me as a young girl. But then again, what if it turns out to be disappointing. Great idea to ponder.
Of course, I live in the land of denial. I was heartbroken when I was told that the wildflowers that grow along the Texas highways were actually PLANTED and not a miracle of nature!
I think some books will hold up well, but I bet they are the classic kids books. I didn't read Bridge to Terabithia, but I've heard it's a great book.
As for the wildflowers, not a miracle of nature, only a miracle of Lady Bird Johnson :)
The giving tree. I reread it every year. And i'm taken back to my childhood, and I still tear up a bit.
Good book.
Another is Hatchet. I didn't appreciate it as a kid, I see what a fine piece of lit that is really is.
I haven't reread The Phantom Toll Booth and The Dark is Rising but I've been wanting to for a while now. I keep a copy of The Riddle of the Trumpalar because I loved it so much but haven't read it in about 10 years. I've also reread The Forgotten Beasts of Eld a few times and it's only lately that I've wondered if I've read it a little too often.
As for romance, I've been accumulating some classics from secondhand bookshops, mostly by Kathleen Woodiwiss because she was one of Mum's favourites. I also have a couple of boxes of category romances that I keep and reread at least once every couple of years.
Anon,
I bawl at the giving tree. I don't know why such a simple premise can touch me so emotionally, but it always does. My son completely doesn't understand and wants to know, "What's wrong with you?" Sigh. Have never heard of Hatchet. Must investigate.
Kat,
I tried to reread Woodiwiss, but gave didn't care for it the second time around (The Flame and the Flower was my first real bodice-ripper romance, and I suspect I've outgrown the ripping bodices.
We have the Phantom Tollbooth here, but I'm not even sure if I read it when I was a kid. I should read that one. Love discussing books, you can always learn new, fun titles that you should read.
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