Monday, March 25, 2013

Old Friends

"The best moments in reading are when you come across something - a thought, a feeling, a way of looking at things - which you had thought special and particular to you.  And now, here it is, set down by someone else, a person you have never met, someone even who is long dead.  And it is as if a hand has come out, and taken yours."
-- Alan Bennett, "The History Boys"




I love this quote from The History Boys by Alan Bennett. It takes my breath away. In fact, I think it is one of the best descriptions of the power of literature. When we connect with what a writer is saying in a book, we have our most powerful reading experiences. If you are passionate about books, this has probably happened to you. Finding a special book to read or reread because it speaks to you is comforting. My bookshelves are filled with old friends.

Many people feel this way about their favorite books. Maybe the feeling comes from knowing the books so well that we can quote from them. We remember a passage that made our heart sing with its lyricism or brought tears to our eyes with its poignancy. Maybe these are the kinds of books that make us feel good when we are a little down and need to be taken to a cozy place. They are the equivalent of a cup of tea by the fireplace on a rainy day. With certain books come moments of truth, wisdom and illumination. The reality of the book reflects our own reality. And we recognize a kindred spirit.

When the four women from Elizabeth Von Arnim's The Enchanted April come together in Italy, find happiness and forge unexpected friendships, many of us have felt that same sense of hope and liberation that comes from a new environment. When Margaret Schlegel of Howards End falls in love with the lovely old house in the country that belongs to Ruth Wilcox, we understand that it represents so much more than just a house. For Ruth it was a connection to the past and to the land; she knows that Margaret is its spiritual heir. We share Margaret's reverence for this house because we have all known houses that have that special something -- a life and a character of their own. When Charles Ryder succumbs to the charms of his best friend's family in Brideshead Revisited, we experienced the same thing when young.  When Mrs. Ramsay in To the Lighthouse describes Minta Doyle's "glow"and how it affects the other characters, we know exactly what she means. Some people just light up a room. When Colette writes about the relationship between a mother and daughter in Break of Day, her reflections on this powerful bond illuminate many of our own experiences. And when we read the final line of The Great Gatsby, we are filled with awe.


One of the books I have returned to many time is Mrs. Dalloway.  I am in love with the beauty of the writing and the realness of the heroine Clarissa Dalloway. The best novels take us out of our lives and put us into someone else's. When Clarissa walks out of her London house on a June morning to buy the flowers for her party, I am in her head and feel her joy. And that joy is just one part of the larger tapestry of thoughts and feelings she experiences all day long. As readers we are on this journey with her. And the last line of the book is one of the best closing lines of any novel.

  Do you have books that have spoken to you over the years and feel like old friends?


Top photo via Pinterest    

14 comments:

  1. All those books speak to me too.
    Strong female characters that have presence and a voice that stays with you long after reading.
    You've reminded me to re read a couple of these gems.
    I am reading quite a funny novel Mrs. Queen takes the train

    ReplyDelete
  2. Yes! That quote definitely describes the feeling I have when I connect with a book. Barbara Pym's novels are like old friends to me because I love her characters and relate to her spinsters and other 'excellent women'. She describes the feelings and thoughts of single women very well and I admire that about her above all. Her world is one I completely inhabit when I read one of her novels.

    ReplyDelete
  3. Lovely post. What a great quote by Alan Bennett. I've been trying to make a more conscious effort to underline passages that speak to me as I read. I haven't actively done that since college and would like to start doing that again so that I'll be able to pull some of my "old friends" off the shelf and quickly revisit my favorite parts.

    ReplyDelete
  4. There are times I feel like Mr. Bennet (not a typo - the father) in Pride and Prejudice. I didn't realize it until I read your post, so haven't really analyzed it yet. I know - strange.

    ReplyDelete
  5. What a lovely quote! I love The Enchanted April, Howards End, The Great Gatsby, and Mrs. Dalloway. Crossing to Safety by Wallace Stegner is near the top of my list, too.

    ReplyDelete
  6. I have never come across the quote by Alan Bennett, but I love it. It's so true. To stare at a writers words and know they are exactly what you feel can be almost overwhelming, yet humbling. Sometimes I save those perfect words, writing them in the book jacket to keep them close.

    ReplyDelete
  7. Mrs. Dalloway will always be "that" book for me.
    Though Jane Eyre and My Family and Other Animals hold special places in my heart as well.

    ReplyDelete
  8. Lovely. I now want to reacquaint myself with all my old friends.

    ReplyDelete
  9. That is a tough one Sunday for I enjoy them all...I took their words and moved them to the next level, bringing them into the home as you read in my recent post. The power of words...they take you on the most interesting journeys.
    Thank you for sharing this post..I am going to revisit a few old friends, thanks to you.
    Best wishes Sunday...
    Jeanne xx

    ReplyDelete
  10. Love the quote and the photo too! The Gift of The Sea by Anne Morrow Lindbergh, and Blessed Are The Cheesemakers by Sarah-Kate Lynch always bring me back to center.

    ReplyDelete
  11. Sunday, You always remind me to go pick up an old friend and spend sometime visiting. I love it when I pick up a book and find myself saying, "yes...I know exactly how you feel". Love this post. I only found "The Enchanted April" this past summer and fell head over heels in love with it. I adore the quotation. It is most definitely one to save. Bonnie

    ReplyDelete
  12. I would love to spend an afternoon browsing the bookshelves in the photo! I am another fan of 'The Enchanted April' and have just started rereading it with others on the Cornflower book blog. Mrs. Dalloway is another favourite. I came across 'Mrs. Dalloway's Party' (edited by Stella McNichol) - a sequence of 7 short stories by Virginia - which is a 'good companion' to the book. '84 Charing Cross Road' is another book I love and revisit when in a bookish mood. I greatly enjoy Ciao Domenica - thank you Sunday.

    ReplyDelete
  13. Wallace Stegner's "Angle of Repose" speaks to me...as to do all his books...I just discovered him recently...his writing is magnificent

    ReplyDelete
  14. Persuasion, Mansfield Park and Sense and Sensibility are my special novels. Love The Great Gatsby, too.

    ReplyDelete