I have recently returned from a very nice holiday in Mexico with two of my best friends, which not only involved a fair amount of cocktails but also a fair amount of reading between the three of us. We each brought very different books with us, which made me smile because even though we have lots of things in common I love that our reading interests can vary so much. However, the one book that got me thinking the most, even though I never read it, was Rebecca by Daphne du Maurier.
My friend (funnily enough her name is actually Rebecca) had to read it as part of her degree but, like most university texts, she had to rush to finish it and so wanted to re-read it in her own time. She promised me that she loved it and I'm sure she did but no matter what she thought about it I still have no desire to read it. And I feel a little guilty for thinking it. This has nothing to do with hurting my friend's feelings but the simple fact is I'm not a fan of classic literature. "WHAT?!" Cry the esteemed authors of the world. "BUT YOU WANT TO BE A WRITER!" Yell the publishers. "YOU OBVIOUSLY DON'T KNOW GOOD LITERATURE," shout the critics. This is what I imagine those people to say when I quietly admit, in my head, that I don't like classics all that much. The world has a rich history of fantastic writers and stories, some of which I love (shout out to Geoffrey Chaucer and 'ole Billy Shakespeare) but I don't like every single one of them and as an aspiring writer I feel a pressure that suggests to me that I should. I'm not sure where this pressure has come from, possibly from years of studying English Lit in school or reading book reviews and features in noted newspapers, but the more that society pushes this idea that we must read every book in the literary canon, the more pressure I feel that I'm failing to be a true lover of books. In reality, I think this is all rubbish. Yes, we should recognise the great writers of the past and, yes, we should encourage people to read those books but what if (God forbid) they don't like Jane Austen or any of her ilk? Should our first reaction be to condemn them or think "Fair enough, they're not everyone's cup of tea"? It's unrealistic for everyone to like every book that has ever been published and if a person prefers more modern books or books that don't tackle the deep issues of our society to the literature of yesteryear then who are they really hurting? At least they're reading! They're escaping their little corner of the world and discovering something new, which I truly believe can help us all in the battle for acceptance and equality. But political agenda aside, I am finally ridding myself of the fear of not being seen as a genuine literature lover and coming out from the cannon closet. I don't like women in frilly dresses who just stand around and talk. I don't like stories that, while filled with symbolism, move very slowly. And I don't like being told what I should read by anyone, esteemed journalist/critic/author or not. I like twisty plots with great characters and I'm sorry if that offends you in any way. Except that I'm not, I'm just being polite.
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