I've been taking part to the literary blog hop for a year now, more or less. I've took part to twenty-something editions of it and to my knowledge, I have miss only one, maybe two. I like it, because it forces me to think and articulate about the way I perceive literature. I think fiction is very important and the literary blog hop is the occasion to say why. If you would like to participate, head over to The Blue Bookcase, and read the latest post to get the rules of engagement. This month's prompt is:
What work of literature would you recommend to someone who doesn't like literature?
This is a tricky question because many different people could fit the "I don't like literature" type. Let's focus on two case studies, who I think would be the main two people targeted by this question.
Case Study #1
The person was never really encouraged to read as a child. The parents were not against it, it just wasn't a priority for them. So that person really loves to go to the movies and sees it as mere escapism. No questions asked, it's just a story. She has no issue against the idea of reading, but a short attention span. The book I would recommend would have to be under two hundred and fifty pages, would have to have very short chapters (preferably under ten pages) and a straightforward but cinematic approach. Striking images and witty dialogs. In fact, it's even better if it's a novel that's been adapted, because the person could make the connections more easily and understand the potency of a good novel better. I'd recommend...
FIGHT CLUB is a novel that was turned into a very good movie that was also very faithful to its original material. Also, it doesn't take the reader by the hand. I don't believe in an ABC-of-reading approach. I think it's condescending. FIGHT CLUB is not the easiest material, but it's written in compact, evocative prose that will stay with you, like the movie did. It was the gateway to literature for many people.
Case Study #2
The person is a VORACIOUS reader, but simply doesn't believe in fiction. It's the kind of person that has REALLY read GUNS, GERMS AND STEEL from cover to cover and likes to challenge people to see who has read it and who has pretended to. She thinks that reading fiction is a waste of time and that there are so many important things to read right now in the world, she doesn't see the point of reading anything that's "not real". Being around this type of person is like being sucked into an intellectual ENTER THE DRAGON. A book for this kind of person would have to mend the differences in between the documentary perspective and the narrative approach. It has to tell a story, it has to be real and it has to be entertaining as hell.
Everybody loves David Foster Wallace (or almost). Point is, he has everything to seduce an intellectual person and this essay book is just entertaining and narrative enough to make you smile (make you laugh, sometimes) and keep you interested in the subjects Wallace is discussing. It contains his famous essay E UNIBUS PLURAM on the effect of television on contemporary literature and DERIVATIVE SPORTS IN TORNADO ALLEY, which is almost a memoir. It has a whole set of footnotes too, who start by being very serious and who end up being total fun by the end of the book. Reading Wallace, you feel like you're being taken seriously, but not like you're being educated by an apocryphal wizard of intellect. One of his biggest achievements is to have written like he's your very smart friend.