You might guess, from the title, this isn't a review, but was brought on by me reading, which is close enough, right? And I do like to not play to expectations...
I like to read. In fact, I spend a goodly portion of my non-nose-to-grindstone time doing so. Not all my time, but enough that I can get through several books a week. Given that I read all sorts, but have my own pretensions, I can sometimes be found to be reading classics. Or complicated tomes that require esteemed professors to write introductions, forwards, explanations and essays.
And that is my point. I have no objections to these. In fact, they can enhance the experience, if they reveal nuances I might miss, historical or cultural indicators beyond my social sphere, beyond my education, just beyond me. The live of the novelist, his routine (Note: I use the masculine here, as his/her is very clumsy. Plus, to be honest, and this will warrant a futher post, I rarely read female authors.), his friends, his education, all this can have a bearing on how the novel was constructed. And it can give an extra kick to the overall enjoyment of the piece, as context is everything.
But you know, putting it at the start of the book is the problem. Mostly because you get an overview of the entire novel. Plot points are discussed, characters are dissected, settings are laid open. All before you have read the book. Before. Not after. I like to make up my own mind, then expand my understanding by reading the scholarly take on it. I like to be suprised (sometimes it is obvious, but sometimes not) as the story unfolds, to guess, secondguess and be wrong over the twists and turns. A book is an adventure, and yes, sometimes we need a map, but sometimes the fun is wending our own way, then retracing the steps with a guide.
Don't spoil it, don't show off that some editor loves it already, and waxes on about certain pivotal scenes. Let us get there ourselves. Let us live the novel, then take us upwards with things we missed.
But let us read ourselves first.
Yours,
sT.
Original picture used above. Taken from my own bookshelf.
5 comments:
Haven't come across a book like that yet, but it does seem it would spoil the story a bit!
I've noticed this in a lot of non-fiction books as well as in classics. My response is usually just to read the introduction last :-)
I solve this problem easily. I don't read these in the beginning and just come back to them after I am done with the book.
I rarely read the introductions because I always want to get on with the book, then I want to read the next book. Sometimes though I have started to read one, realised it's full of spoilers and left it. It's a little careless to put spoilers at the start, even with classics, not everyone knows the story already and it should be an adventure.
I know I shouldn't read it first, but it *does* come at the start of the book. Putting it at the end would also mean people might be more inclined to read it, having just finished the novel. If I skipped it at the start, if my OCD allowed, I might never go back to it. Closing a book after I am done generally means instantly opening another :)
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