Stories that changed you

[Sulla]

Have you ever read a story (short story, novel, whatever) that changed you in some way? If so, what was it and how did it change you?

Obviously we are changed by everything we read. I'm talking about a big change. A philosophical change. A change in the way you live your life.

[inbetween]

a big change.. hm..
honestly I would not say that anything ever changed me... there are just things that made me understand but I'm not sure if anything ever changed me...
well I got one
"the secret river" by kate greenville.. I hated it ... had to read it for school and the stile almoste killed me but it made me understand something.
it made me see that such human disasters like the way the amarican natives or the australian natives where treated by the europeans and so on .. that these things are nothing but the fight of two groups of the same species for the same habitat... that was tough for me but that's it...that's what changed me and how

I'm sure there were others but I can't recall them right now

[hillwalker]

'The Dice Man' by Luke Rhinehart - I think I read it at a time when it felt good to watch someone else suffer a 'mid-life crisis' of such catastrophic proportions, and prepared me for mine.

H :-)

[The Atheist]

The only one I could say did that was Shirley Jackson's The Lottery.

Reading it was so vivid and realistic it made me realise that bad stuff does really happen. Considering I saw the real war, violence and hatred on TV news as a kid, it was odd that a fictional account woke me up.

[LuggageFan]

Obviously, part of education happens through reading books, so almost all of us have read books that changed our lives.

But to dispense with the pedantry, I think Naguib Mahfouz' "Palace Walk" helped give me insight into the arab family structure and its dynamics, to the extent that it is an accurate reflection of same. Especially the role of women in the home.

As to how it 'changed my life', I think that the fact that it was so well-written and structured has made much other stuff (which I've read since then) pale in comparison. So I guess it raised my reading standards.

[Seasider]

I was determined to be a novelist...and then I read Crime and Punishment
and after that I wasn't.

[Emil Miller]

There are a number of books that have influenced my thinking but none more so than The Warden by Anthony Trollope. The character of John Bold, who epitomises do goodery and how it leads to the opposite of what is intended, opened my eyes to its potential for destruction and gave me a lifelong suspicion of liberals, all of whom should constantly be reminded that the road to hell is paved with good intentions.

[MystyrMystyry]

I was determined to be a novelist...and then I read Crime and Punishment
and after that I wasn't.

You let C and P deter you from your vocation - for shame!


I think simple aspects of everyone change every day regardless - some facets thrive and shine while other facets decline, and particular parts of books contribute to the continual evolution of one's personal organism

Perhaps it is the fact that the more we read the smarter we become because the act of reading enables reference points - reference points that allow us to predict our personal futures, make sense of people and scenes, generally understand the wider worlds of both macrocosm and microcosm

All books assist in our individual growth, all reading does, but the question should then be which one book was it that got you into reading in the first place - and that would be hard if exposed to any number of great texts at an early age, or it may just have been Enid Blyton

You know that name, huh? Well apart from the Famous Five's ongoing struggle against the smugglers as a plot device - they were actually great books for an inchoate and uncritical mind to learn quite a lot about life, right from wrong, the importance of friendship, strength in numbers (teamwork), and lots else

An old anthology of poetry taught me (or made me realise) that I dug poetry, but also that I'd probably never be a good poet (if even a poet at all)


Sorry - another too long post

[Buh4Bee]

"Roots" by Alex Haley. Gave me perspective on slavery. I was teaching in the inner city at the time and one of the teachers I was working with recommended the book.

[Dark Passenger]

The Catcher in the Rye

I read it when I ws just a boy. It hit me deep down on some emotional level, a level I'd never really thought much about. It made me realise there's more to life than just chasing girls and kicking balls and getting drunk to the point of vomiting out of my bedroom window. It made me more introspective, I guess, and made me feel more, too. That small book helped me think, and allowed me to see that there's a big world out there, and that there's depths inside.

I've read better things since, but it'll always be my first love in some twisted way.

[Emmy Castrol]

DH Lawrence's 'The Rainbow'. It made me understand that everybody truly is born equal. There is an entity out there that sees even the most simple of persons as a complex construct.

[mal4mac]

A few great novelists - Dickens, Tolstoy, Hardy, Eliot, Austen... - changed my life from mainly studying science and philosophy to mainly reading novels... big change... much more fun.... :)

[kenoi]

'The Satyricon' by Petronius made me realise that our society has never really changed. From the ancient Roman times to today, people have not really evolved - we've just perfected our technological tools, and built more.


"A company mounts the stage, presents a play,
Taking the roles of rich man, father, son;
But once these comic parts have had their say,
Our true selves reappear; the roles are gone."

Petronius in 'The Satyricon'