One of the books I intend to read this year is Yann Martel's Life of Pi, which poses a philosophical question: do you need to finish a book in order for it to count to the tally? This might sound daft, but apparently there are those who consider they have read a book even if they have been able to make it to the final page; that it was the book's fault they had been unable to reach completion.The latter may be true - the book may well have been awful, and the reading of it a dreadful experience - but the reader cannot have it both ways. If you're unable to summon the perseverance to finish the job, you can't claim the rewards at the end, especially when you're embarking on a barmy exercise such as reading 100 books in a year...
So what's this got to do with Life of Pi? Well, I first tried reading the Man Booker Prize for Fiction winner soon after it was published in 2001. I attempted to read the Man Booker Prize for Fiction winner again a year later. And I think I've started - and failed to finish - the Man Booker Prize for Fiction winner another couple of times since then.
I can't really explain why this is. I don't have a problem finishing books, whether they be novels, autobiographies or even encyclopedias, but something about Life of Pi (a Man Booker Prize for Fiction winner, remember) just makes me give up. I know it's critically acclaimed, and I know that millions of people love it, but there comes a point where I just become disillusioned and put it down, to be consigned to a dusty shelf once more.
So, unfinished books don't count. And, once again, I will soon be attempting to read Life of Pi...
If you need a challenge, try Moby Dick. Forget valium, the prose is so heavy, it had me fast asleep for about 3 weeks, without making it past page 4. Perhaps we just aren't are smart as we think MJB? (That can't be true...) Monge
ReplyDeleteLife of Pi was one of mine last year, and I have to admit I am one of the millions who love it. This is where I'd usually say 'So I don't know what you're talking about!", but I have a complete inability to read Catch 22 despite starting four times.
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