[Perry] Books That Grow Up With Us

I had an interesting experience last year.

I was meeting a friend for dinner and drinks. When we got to the restaurant, I noticed that he was carrying around a battered copy of The Catcher in the Rye by J.D Salinger.

I asked him if he was reading it for the first time and he told me that he had joined a book club. That he had read the book before and was being asked to read it again.

We talked about it for a while but I found, strangely, that our opinions on the book differed vastly. So my friend eyed me speculatively and asked me when the last time I’d read the book was.

When he found out that it was back during my high school years, he nudged the book across the table to me and told me to take it home to give it another read.

Curious, I did.

I remembered the story pretty well, that of Holden Caulfield running away from his home at a private school.

Here’s the thing though.

While the story hadn’t changed, my perception of the character had shifted drastically.

The book I remembered in high school…I really remember identifying with the main character. I remember liking Holden and understanding his little mannerisms and the things he said. I remember really liking the character, thinking he was like me and really enjoying the book.

My recent read through was a different story entirely. The story hadn’t changed in the slightest but I found that the characters had. I read through the novel and absolutely loathed Holden. I thought he was a smarmy little twerp and I REALLY enjoyed my second read.

It showed me that having grown and matured a bit myself, my perception of once loved classics had shifted as well.

I loved the book and Holden when I first read it because I felt I understood him and the way he thought.

I loved the book but hated Holden the second time I read it because I could see that he was a whiny little brat and I realized that he was simply a teenager.

My perceptions had changed and with it, it changed the tone of the novel as well.

As I had grown, so had Catcher in the Rye.

In a similar fashion, I recently finished reading the Chronicles of Prydain by Lloyd Alexander. It was a beloved series when I was a young and reading it now…some of the magic is gone.

While the story itself hadn’t changed, the magic that had once captured me had weakened its grip a little. The characters seemed a little flat and the plot was…well, simplistic to say the least.

Needless to say, I stopped with my experimentation shortly after, content to let the classics of my childhood retain their magic instead of exposing them to too bright a light and ruining them forevermore.

But the knowledge that they DO exist gives me hope. Books like Catcher in the Rye that matures as I do and offers a different experience when re-experiencing them.

Have you re-read any beloved childhood novels recently? How did the experience hold up against what you remember?

Related posts:

When You Grow Up

NaNo2010 > Characters 1