I love to read but the way an author writes can make a work completely inaccessible for me. I’ve always had a hard time with works written during another time period or using a style of language that differs at all from my own contemporary brand of English. I really wish I could read Dostoevsky or Joyce but I can’t even handle the their audiobooks much less print. I feel like I’m standing outside a great party watching everyone have this wonderful enriching experience while I know I’ll never be invited in. I’m looking for great novels that have very clear, accessible, down to earth prose. I love Steinbeck and somehow his writing style works for me. Stephen King is another author I can read easily, though I’m about 50/50 on my enjoyment of his books. I don’t care much about setting details like time period or location, just that it is a substantive story with simpler prose. My favorites include “Stoner,” “East of Eden,” & “The Stand.” Any suggestion regarding titles, authors or even methods for making these more difficult works more palatable for me is greatly appreciated.
by BonHiver8
4 Comments
Honestly, I don’t think this has anything to do with intelligence. It’s just something you haven’t learned yet. I started young, which I think helped me a lot, it’s just easier to pick up some nuances of language then. This is not a lost cause though. There are a few things I would try as starting points, then build from there:
Children’s books/stories: AA Milne, Lucy Maud Montgomery, JM Barrie, CS Lewis. Many of these stories are incredibly rich, but the narratives aren’t built with as much complexity, so they can help you get used to the language without trying to keep up with everything else. Plus they’re just delightful, which can also help with something challenging.
Short stories: The Death of Ivan Ilych (Dostoevsky), Bartleby the Scrivener (Melville), The Secret Sharer (Conrad), The Overcoat (Gogol), The Yellow Wallpaper (Gilman). Pick any author you aspire to read and see if you can find a short story by them. There are also several reddit threads and online lists of excellent classic short stories.
Honestly, abridged versions. Usually these use the author’s original language but cut out some descriptive language and minor plot points. I wouldn’t call these replacements for reading the original, but it’s a HUGE step above something like sparknotes to get you a sense of the story and writing style.
ETA: this is just a starting point. Once you get a little more comfortable or find an author you like, go for shorter novels, then build the muscle to longer ones or even more esoteric language.
Reading is like anything else. You get better with practice.
I would suggest To Kill a Mockingbird, The Great Gatsby, and In Cold Blood.
Also, when I want to ensure I am grasping what is going on in any of those hard-to-read classics, I follow up my reading by looking at the Spark Notes on line. It helps.
Joe Abercrombie – The Devils
The best way to get better is to make yourself struggle through them, IMO. The first time I read pride and prejudice it was DIFFICULT in a way I was unprepared for. I just pushed through, and then re read it, and eventually it stopped feeling like a foreign dialect