'A book isn't supposed to be a mirror. It's supposed to be a door'

A columnist from Chicago Tribune wonders where to lay the blame 'for the decline in young people’s reading habits'.

In many articles about students’ reading abilities, there is an overemphasis on students’ disengagement from canonical texts — those traditionally deemed “classics” that all students should read. Works such as “Wuthering Heights,” “Jane Eyre,” “The Iliad,” “Great Expectations” and “Pride and Prejudice” are often heralded as crucial for understanding the human condition and appreciating humanity’s greatest achievements. While these texts can offer valuable insights, they predominately feature white authors and white protagonists, suggesting that only certain humans are worthy of appreciation.

When the canon is prioritized, contemporary, diverse and young adult literature, especially works by and about minoritized people, are often overlooked. By emphasizing a narrow selection of texts, we can alienate students who might connect more deeply with stories that reflect their own experiences. By spotlighting white-centric literature from centuries ago, we risk making reading feel irrelevant to students’ lives, further diminishing their motivation to read. (Stephanie R. Toliver)

As the wonderful Fran Lebowitz would say: 'A book isn't supposed to be a mirror. It's supposed to be a door'.

A contributor to The Flat Hat writes about reading Jean Rhys.

In her most well-known novel “Wide Sargasso Sea” — the aforementioned prequel to “Jane Eyre” —  follows the madwoman of Rochester’s attic before madness. Or, more accurately, the novel closely follows her into madness. A series of tragedies and horrors are lodged into the psyche of Antoinette Cosway since childhood: the prolonged threat of violence against her family, the deterioration of her mother and then a mob’s burning of her home and a brush with death, prevented only by a superstitious sign (a parrot burning to death). Later, living in an abbey, Cosway confesses to a nun “I had a dream I was in hell.” And recalling the image of her worn mother being taken away to an insane asylum, she begins to cry, asking “why, why must such terrible things happen?” The nun offers no consolation, telling her only to “put that dream out of [her] mind” before sadly concluding “we cannot know why the devil must have his little day. (Grant Yoon)