"A CASE FOR READING CONTEMPORARY LITERATURE" is written by Kevin Quigley.
"I
have always been a reader.
As
a child I was always in the middle of a book. I just loved the act of
reading. And when reading was unacceptable, say, at the dinner table,
or impracticable, like in the shower, there were always the words on
a ketchup or shampoo bottle upon which to focus my attention. It
often didn’t even matter whether the words were once
upon a time
or sodium
laureth sulphate.
They served as a distraction: for however long I concentrated on them
I would forget about the world around me.
The
real escape, however, would occur after lights out when, night after
night, I would reach for my torch, tent myself under the duvet and
find - or rather lose - myself in fictional worlds. In a childhood
which was far from idyllic, these worlds – whether better or worse
than my own – were not only comforting, they were crucial.
And
now, decades later, they remain as necessary as ever. And not just as
a means of retreat from this world and its imperfections but also as
a lens through which to see it more clearly, or indeed as a mirror in
which to get a better look at myself, ourselves.
No-one,
of course, would deny the power of classic literature in this regard.
But what of contemporary fiction? Is it worthy of our time and
attention?
Somewhat
predictably perhaps, my response is yes. In this media-addicted,
celebrity-obsessed world, good literature provides not only an oasis
from but an antidote to the shallowness and asininity of much of
contemporary culture.
We
live in a world where our ever-decreasing attention spans seem
increasingly to dictate how we spend our leisure-time: surfing the
internet, flicking through TV channels, glancing through magazines.
Even the verbs in that sentence resonate with non-commitment and
disinterest. Read, then, as a bulwark against the daily deluge of
soundbites, tweets and texts. The pleasure derived from immersing
oneself in a good story will last long after the last page. It’s
been a year, for example, since I read Rohinton Mistry's 624-page
Indian epic A
Fine
Balance
but elements of his tale still haunt me.
We
live in a world where language is no longer sacred, where words are
solely used in the service of advertising or as vehicles for
appalling plots in
appalling potboilers. Read, then, for the sheer beauty and
possibilities of language. Relish every word, every turn of phrase in
The
God of Small Things
by Arundhati Roy, savouring it all the more in the knowledge that the
author never wrote another novel.
Not
only are plots often as thin as the paper they’re written on, so,
all too often, are the characters. But there are, thankfully, authors
whose creations
are so vivid, so complex, that they will, by turns, infuriate you and
endear themselves to you. Read, then, to encounter such characters,
and find yourself reflected in them. You don't have to have read
Virginia Woolf to appreciate the depth of emotions experienced by the
three female leads in Michael Cunningham’s splendidly lyrical The
Hours.
We
live in a world dominated by Hollywood, where ideas and narratives
are recycled and reused in order to make a quick buck. Films are made
and remade, and novels are never published without the
possibility of a film somewhere down the line. Read then, to discover
something original, for the joy of what-happens-next? Pick up a book
about which
you
know nothing, like I did with The
Other Hand
(also published in some countries as Little Bee). The back of Chris
Cleave’s second novel says it all: ‘We don't want to tell you too
much about this book. It is a truly special story and we don't want
to spoil it.'
There
are many more books I want to tell you about but I would rather let
you discover what’s out there for yourself. The next time you're
looking
for something to read, think about reading someone who is still
writing today. Maybe consider a novel set in a country you know
little about, or on a theme in which you've never taken an interest
before. Settle yourself in and enjoy that on-the-verge-of
something-new feeling that you only experience as you begin the first
chapter."
THISWEEKWITHTHEKIDS~ choose to make another visit to your local library, or if you're lucky enough to have a good second-hand book shop nearby, spend a few hours reading and browsing. As a family we do this each year when camping as there are 2 great second-hand book shops close by. I like the suggestion to read the work of an author still alive, or an a theme that you know little about. I agree that it is good to read outside your own experience.
Cathy
Cathy
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