7 ms·
It’s disheartening to see this happen in real time. I raised my kids to be readers but the habit ultimately didn’t stick. My son got assigned Frankenstein in hi
by adriand 1y ago
It’s disheartening to see this happen in real time. I raised my kids to be readers but the habit ultimately didn’t stick. My son got assigned Frankenstein in his Grade 12 English class and I hoped for the best but he was bored to tears by it. I read a page or two and I could understand why - the language is outdated and there’s little for him to relate to. Meanwhile there are plenty of modern novels by great writers to choose from where I think the reading would be easier and the stories would be immersive. Tom Wolfe and Jonathan Franzen come to mind, or Margaret Atwood, or Ursula K LeGuin. I’m reading We Do Not Part by Han Kang right now, which won the Nobel - it’s a great example of an ideas-driven book with accessible language.
- eszed 1y agoI agree. Frankenstein is a great novel, and I've taught it at the college level, but I wouldn't include it in a high school curriculum. It feels to me like those "great books" lists got frozen in 1880-something, when general literacy (among literate people!) was much higher than it is today. Imposing texts like that onto much less experienced readers (much as we might deplore their relative lack of sophistication) seems almost punitive, and turns them away from reading entirely. (I'm not familiar with We Do Not Part; thanks for the recommendation. I love all of the other authors you mention, and will check Han Kang out.)