I was talking to a friend about comedic / farcical literature the other day, and Catch-22 by Joseph Heller came up. That made me remember - I first read this book when I was about 15 years old. Or rather I read about 80% of it, didn’t quite finish it that time. I forced myself through it because I had heard it was subversive and intelligent and challenging, and I got nothing out of it. I didn’t see the humor, I didn’t get any political commentary, it was just a series of absurd things happening to absurd characters with no rhyme or reason.
I reread that book two years ago and damn near pissed myself laughing on every other page, but then the ending rolled around and it hit so hard. That sudden switch from absurdist comedy to heavy, bleak, depressing, and then he gives you just this glimmer of hope at the end anyway. I found it absolutely brilliant, and yet I kept thinking back to how none of this connected with me when I first read it.
Do you have books like that? Books that just plain went over your head, that you didn’t have the maturity to appreciate, that were too difficult in style or subject matter, and that you’ve come to appreciate years later?
Summer before 5th grade mom decided i needed to start reading more mature stuff, no more Sweet Valley High books i guess. so she checked out Diary of Anne Frank from the library for me.
It’s an important book to read. and since Anne was close to my age it probably hit home how similar our lives were and what not. But I don’t think i was old enough and it sort of set me on a somewhat unhealthy interest in the holocaust and nazi war criminals and nazi hunting.
I was still playing with dolls, except now i was playing that we were hiding/escaping from nazis. which is kinda messed up i think.
I had a similar experience with Anne Frank. It was the first book I bought with my own money. It still have it, over 40 years later.
Though I did develop a fear (I had nightmares about Hitler) I also developed empathy. It was good for me, ultimately, even if I can still see Hitler decapitating my friends with a lightsaber.