From the esteemed cultural critic and journalist Wendy Lesser, Nothing Remains the Same is a bibliophile's dream: a book about the pleasures and su...
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reviews
Jan 21, 2012
Holly
rated it: 
"[...] part of what I am trying to suggest, in writing a book that is both autobiographical and critical, is that even the extra-literary is literary." Lesser situates both her original reading and her years-later rereadings in the physical and intellectual contexts in which she read: what chair she was sitting in and how the light hit the page; her state of mind and her knowledge at the time. She doesn't find the same dynamic happening with all books - she is swept away by feeling in
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Jul 23, 2009
Heyrebekah
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This book is a series of essays about how our perceptions of books change over time as we ourselves change. Wendy Lesser describes her experiences as she rereads books she first encountered years before. Some old favorites seem narrow and trite after 20 years, while others gain new meanings.
I thought this was a great concept for a book and I was excited to read it. However, I felt that Lesser made too many assumptions about what other books her readers have read and what they thou More...
I thought this was a great concept for a book and I was excited to read it. However, I felt that Lesser made too many assumptions about what other books her readers have read and what they thou More...
Aug 13, 2011
Sharon
rated it: 
Lesser is an thoughtful and thought provoking author. My issues with the book were mine, not hers. I found her explanation of why she decided to re-read certain books from her past, and how she would select those books very interesting. I've certainly had the experience of re-reading a book from my past and finding it to be an entirely different thing from the first go-round (I'm talking about you, 'One Hundred Years of Solitude'). My problem with this book was with chapters where she was talkin
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Apr 23, 2008
Anne
rated it:
Despite all the books I have yet to read, I often find myself going back to books I read when I was younger. Sometimes I do this with disastrous results - discovering that a character I once identified with and admired is now simply irritating and immature (Holden Caulfield, Howard Roark). Other times, I find that a book I struggled to get through and found boring is suddenly transformed into a highly relevant story (anything by Dickens). So, I was interested in reading this book - which is abou
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Jan 25, 2009
Nothing Remains the Same: Rereading and Remembering by Wendy Lesser (2003)
Apr 21, 2008
Kirsti
rated it: 
What an excellent writer Wendy Lesser is. I got a lot out of this book, especially the parts about pieces I know: I Capture the Castle, "The Rocking-Horse Winner," Anna Karenina, The Tempest, and the movie Vertigo.
May 29, 2011
Michele
rated it:
While I didn't love this book, I emphatically agree with Lesser's main point -- that our understanding of literature often changes dramatically over time.
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