I like to read, but I’ve noticed that I rarely can remember what I’ve read. I try to read the paper everyday and I could tell you in a general sense the articles I’ve read, but I couldn’t give you any specifics. I probably started with the sports page and read something about the Tigers latest game, and sure I could tell you whether they won or lost and who contributed but any specifics, probably not. I then turned to the news section and read about the latest disaster. Maybe it was fires in California or flooding in New York or storms in Florida, or perhaps I read about the latest news about the pandemic, masks, school openings and closings, hospitals full, people arguing, of course all that’s been going on for over a year now so the specifics get muddled.
I’ve always envied those people who can quote sections of their favorite books or verses from their favorite poem right off the top of their heads. I’ve seen people quote famous lines from Shakespeare and I’m always amazed. I mean, sure I can give you
“to be or not to be…that is the question ?” or “a rose by any other name”
but that’s about my knowledge of famous Shakespeare quotes, although to be fair, I never really read that much Shakespeare…..really does anyone ?
What really bothers me is when I read a good book and I can’t really remember certain parts of it or why I thought it was good. I certainly can’t quote phrases or passages….I might be able to give you a general overview of the book, but I’ll probably tell you it was a good book because it had a good story and good writing.
I’ve read The Great Gatsby three times and I’ll be damned if I can quote one line from it. Ok, you’re probably wondering why I read The Great Gatsby three times so I will tell you.
I don’t actually remember the first time I read it….I was in my 20’s and it was one of those books that people tell you you just gotta read, so I did, which is kinda funny because if it’s one of those books “you just gotta read” then how come I made it through 12 years of school and 4 years of college and nobody asked me to read it. I remember feeling a little disappointed after reading it the first time. I mean at first the Gatsby character is fantastical with his wealth and wild parties….who wouldn’t want to be part of the Long Island party scene of the roaring 20’s ? But then you just realize he’s doing all this to get the attention of an old girlfriend from his hometown….oh c’mon dude move on, she did….and besides, he could probably get any woman he wanted. If anything, the whole book just proves that guys will do the most stupid things to get the attention of a woman.
So I let Gatsby sit on the shelf for 10 years before I revisited it, hoping to find it’s greatness. Not surprisingly, it was the same…..wild parties, interesting but flawed characters and this time I distinctly remember feeling angry. Gatsby is a tragic character, unable to move on, trapped by the hope of the past and he pays dearly for it….meanwhile the people who cause the destruction and misery move on, they don’t have any trouble moving on and they leave other people to clean up their messes.
So, I put Gatsby on the bookshelf next to the other books “you just gotta read”….Huck Finn, Catcher in the Rye, To Kill a Mockingbird. I figured it would gather dust….oh sure I would recommend it to anyone who hadn’t read it and I would tell them…”you just gotta read it,”……but I figured I was done trying to figure out it’s greatness….heck I was never any good at that anyhow, figuring what the author was really trying to say.
Then, a couple a months ago, I heard an audio reading of Gatsby, each chapter was read by a different person…..and it was magic. The words that I had read and couldn’t remember and couldn’t make sense of came alive, leaping off the page in wonderful sentences and paragraphs, a literary symphony to my ears. I listened and re-listened, going back when I heard a passage that was especially well written like this one:
I believe that on the first night I went to Gatsby’s house I was one of the few guests who had actually been invited. People were not invited….they went there. They got into automobiles which bore them out to Long Island and somehow they ended up at Gatsby’s door. Once there they were introduced by somebody who knew Gatsby and after that they conducted themselves according to the rules of behavior associated with amusement parks. Sometimes they came and went without having met Gatsby at all, came for the party with a simplicity of heart that was its own ticket of admission.
That simple paragraph alone describes half of the book……it’s almost perfect.
So I read Gatsby again, and this time I didn’t worry about the story, of course I knew what was going to happen, so I didn’t worry about Gatsby and his wild party’s and his so called friends or his shady business dealings. I wasn’t angry that Tom & Daisy just pick up and go somewhere else….heck I figured they deserve each other and the misery they cause others is just a reflection of their own miserable relationship. I didn’t worry that the narrator, Nick, became disillusioned and ended up moving back to the mid-west. No, I was able to read it again and just enjoy it, enjoy it for the writing and the time period it takes place in, enjoy it for the unique characters, enjoy it for the story it tells and what it tells about us.
That’s why I’ve read The Great Gatsby three times, but I still can’t quote any lines from it. No, I suppose there are some people who can just remember their favorite lines from a book and others who can’t….for those of us who can’t, it is kinda enjoyable to pick up and read a book you’ve already read and discover it all over again.
As always….journey well and be kind to each other,
John
John's Blog 