Difficult, Done, Worth it:
Jason Kottke recently linked to a blog posting entitled “How to Read Difficult Books” which couldn’t have come at a better time for me. As part of my ongoing attempt to read classic works of literature (a project that has all the alacrity of a knock-eyed flamingo), I picked up Cry The Beloved Country (1946), Alan Paton’s classic work of early Apartheid South African literature, last mouth and dove in. Several weeks pass at a 5-10 page-a-day clip, slow going and and often difficult to engage. I considered junking it several times, as is usually my inclination when a book fails to grab me and there are 500 other worthy contenders on a shelf in the next room. But I pushed on and this afternoon, I finished. I’m enormously proud of myself.
Reading classics is no easy feat. They often remind us of the forced literary marches of junior high. Their language, settings, character and values can seen quaint, dated or even offensive. Hardest of all for me is shaking the gnawing take of reading broccoli, that is isn’t supposed to take good but instead be good for me.
I thought Cry the Beloved Country was beautiful, sad and completely worth it. But it was not easy to read. I could no more curl up with it at the beach than I could an anatomy chart. The follow tips give you the freedom to read a book like this and not feel like a bad person if you don’t read it perfectly.
1) Read passages outloud. The language is often easier to comprehend this way.
2) Read the last chapter first. I didn’t do this but it eleviates the guilt from not reading the middle close enoguh.
3) Read supplemental material. It doesn’t have to be CliffsNotes but there’s nothing wrong with getting the basic plot and characters down instead of diving in cold.
4) DO NOT be affraid to skip. Amen. Nobody’s afraid to skip when doing “fun reading.” Why should this be any different? Remember, the classics should be fun too.