Have you ever read a novel that changed your view of the world?
Yes, To Kill A Mockingbird. I did not understand the descructive force of racism until then.
Lincoln in the Bardo for me.
Oh what a juicy question. One I could ponder and will ponder for days and perhaps forever as there are so very many ! Yes, Lincoln in the Bardo - excellent choice btw. Having recently read James , I think I would say that gave me pause and did also throw a lovely shift into my world view. Backlash by Faludi many years ago did also, although it more affirmed than changed but still it was important in that way. True Biz. ThereThere, Stealing, The Small and The Mightyy, This Republic of Suffering, while these last are not novels, the manner in which they were written made them seem more novel like to me than pure historical nonfiction typically does. Maybe I’m off the path here but for me any book that provides me with information I did not know and teaches me something that shapes or broadens my view of humanity while providing additional insight into our shared human condition does qualify as a valid response . Isn’t this the point of reading? Or at least one main point of reading? I guess that’s why I have so many books I could put on the list. Great question!!
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You haven’t read much if you haven’t had this happen! I find that reading books about history and about other cultures has widened my knowledge and understanding of the world. I especially enjoy books about Native Americans and have read so many I can’t just pick one…
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The Red Tent. It made me realize how women need to stick together and support one another. This made me realize that it was important in biblical times and women can find a way in the midst of sexism in our world.
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Has to be the Diary of Ann Frank. I read this book in eighth grade and reflected what Ann had written for a long time. Later, when I was 22 I read the Hiding Place by Corrie Ten Boom. Another great and moving true story about the concentration camps of World War II. I greatly respect the writer’s of both books and how they wrote of their experiences.
Another book i must mention is Mark Twain’s Adventures of Huckleberry Finn. Huck’s awakening of the humanity of Jim as a fellow man greatly touched me, and that section of the book I have quoted to many friends and family. I love how Twain wrote about life on the river, and his bravery in his choice of words to tell this life changing story.
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@Lloyde_Newman, I was moved by those two books as well, although I encountered Hiding Place earlier - sometime in high school, I think. Have you read Larry Loftis’s The Watchmaker’s Daughter: The True Story of World War II Heroine Corrie ten Boom? It came out in 2023 and it’s been on my list.
I know I read Huck Finn in school at some point, but I’ve got very little memory of it. I’ve got to revisit it and then read James.