barbara0207
05-20-2007, 04:43 PM
There is already a thread called "Books that changed your life", but here I'd like to discuss books that you read differently depending on age and circumstances.
When I was 17, I read Thomas Mann's "Buddenbrooks" for the first time. My sympathy lay completely with the younger characters. There was Tony, a young woman marrying the wrong men just because she thought it was her duty. I cried when she had to leave the man she really loved because the family thought him unsuitable. Years later my sympathy for her sometimes turned into impatience when she seemed too naive. What had happened? Feminism had come my way and I had matured - so I favoured strong women.
Another example from the same book are Thomas Buddenbrook, a successful merchant, and his son Hanno, who loves music more than maths. The first time my sympathy was with the son; but when I reread the book I had two children myself and I could understand the worries of a parent much better. To a certain degree I even identified with him (a man!), because similar things had happened to me.
Have you ever experienced similar things with books or poetry?
When I was 17, I read Thomas Mann's "Buddenbrooks" for the first time. My sympathy lay completely with the younger characters. There was Tony, a young woman marrying the wrong men just because she thought it was her duty. I cried when she had to leave the man she really loved because the family thought him unsuitable. Years later my sympathy for her sometimes turned into impatience when she seemed too naive. What had happened? Feminism had come my way and I had matured - so I favoured strong women.
Another example from the same book are Thomas Buddenbrook, a successful merchant, and his son Hanno, who loves music more than maths. The first time my sympathy was with the son; but when I reread the book I had two children myself and I could understand the worries of a parent much better. To a certain degree I even identified with him (a man!), because similar things had happened to me.
Have you ever experienced similar things with books or poetry?