StephenKingman Posted June 27, 2010 Share Posted June 27, 2010 Have you ever read a book that you really enjoyed, only to discover later on whilst reading reviews or discussing the book with a friend, that the book had a hidden political, societal or other message contained within its characters and setting that simply went over your head and you failed to grasp it? For example when i first read Animal Farm by Orwell 10 years ago, i simply took it for what it was- a group of disgruntled and unmotivated animals fight back, nothing more nothing less, i now see its a parody of communism and political life! And im sure i have read many books over the years which had a secret code or a point to make about something or other but i was too engrossed in the plot to find out. What about you, dont be ashamed have you ever read a book and missed the message completely? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pixie Posted June 27, 2010 Share Posted June 27, 2010 Lots of times, which is why I make a point now of thinking about a book after I read it and often discussing it with someone else (usually my boyfriend). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nollaig Posted June 27, 2010 Share Posted June 27, 2010 Not entirely the same thing but, Norwegian Wood by Haruki Murakami - I don't know WHAT I missed, but I certainly missed something because I thought it was the most senseless and badly written load of so and so I'd ever read, and yet people seem to think it's this amazing beautiful thing. I rarely miss those qualities in a book, and I'd be the first to find a really 'artsy' (pretentious) book, love it, and go on about how inspiring it is etc, but Norwegian Wood just totally went over my head. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ooshie Posted June 27, 2010 Share Posted June 27, 2010 I was horrified when someone mentioned to me that my absolute favourite childhood books (the Narnia series) had a Christian message! I am a Christian, but if I had realised there was that message then it would have completely ruined the stories for me! I do tend just to read stories as they are, so I am sure there will be many, many more whose message of whatever sort has just gone totally over my head. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chrissy Posted June 27, 2010 Share Posted June 27, 2010 I wasn't aware of the Christian message of the Narnia stories until after I had read them, but I'm glad. I could enjoy them for what they were. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BookJumper Posted June 27, 2010 Share Posted June 27, 2010 Ditto everything Noll said about Norwegian Wood - what was all that about? While there's books which, like NW, I have failed to see any point in, I can't actually remember any book where I thought the message was A and in fact it turned out to be B. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nollaig Posted June 27, 2010 Share Posted June 27, 2010 Oh, I bet there's something in LOTR. If there is, I am unaware of it. I've never actually discussed those books with anyone nor read through any threads about it on here. So as far as I'm concerned, hobbits, elves, dwarves, big bad, TAKE THE RING TO MORDOR etc. and that's it. Don't spoil it for me if there's anything extra. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BookJumper Posted June 27, 2010 Share Posted June 27, 2010 Put in spoiler tags just for you, Noll LOTR and Narnia were actually the result of a bet of sorts between Tolkien and Lewis to see who could write the best Christian parable in fantasy form! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Univerze Posted June 27, 2010 Share Posted June 27, 2010 Alice in Wonderland. Read that for my english classes in highschool, and when reviewing it, there was so much stuff said about that all things had a hidden meaning. Like the roses being painted red and so on, all meant something. To me, it was just a childrens book. My teacher asked my opinion about that too, at the oral examination and he was pleasantly surprised I dind't follow that opinion, since he didnt eather. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chesilbeach Posted June 27, 2010 Share Posted June 27, 2010 I suspect I miss messages all the time. I don't think I've ever read a book and taken it as anything other than the story that's on the page! I think it comes from never having taken much notice in English classes as school - enough to get my O level and that was enough for me - reading is an entertainment for me, and I want to be drawn in to the story on the pages and rarely consider anything else. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kylie Posted June 27, 2010 Share Posted June 27, 2010 I'm like Chesilbeach. I probably miss messages in books all the time, but I would rather just enjoy them than spend loads of time dissecting them. I was aware of the religious aspects of the Narnia series before I started reading them, but I just ignore that part of it and enjoy them for the wonderful stories they are. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kell Posted June 28, 2010 Share Posted June 28, 2010 I was horrified when someone mentioned to me that my absolute favourite childhood books (the Narnia series) had a Christian message! I am a Christian, but if I had realised there was that message then it would have completely ruined the stories for me! I do tend just to read stories as they are, so I am sure there will be many, many more whose message of whatever sort has just gone totally over my head. I found out about the Christian theme in Narnia long after reading the books, but strangely, I find more Pagan messages in them than Christian ones! I miss the messages in books all the time, but it's possibly because I often enjoy them less if I disagree with the message, so I try to enjoy the read as it is, rather than digging too deep. Univerze - I hope you['ll join in July's Reading Circle - we're reading Alice's Adventures in Wonderland, and I'd love to know what messages people find it that book! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
twinkle Posted June 28, 2010 Share Posted June 28, 2010 Did anyone find a hidden message in The Life of Pi? I didn't get that book at all. I kept plowing on thinking there must be a great ending but finished the book thinking what a waste of my time reading it had been. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kylie Posted June 28, 2010 Share Posted June 28, 2010 I'm sure I missed lots of stuff in Cloud Atlas as well, but I didn't really care. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pixie Posted June 28, 2010 Share Posted June 28, 2010 I kept plowing on thinking there must be a great ending but finished the book thinking what a waste of my time reading it had been. I thought the same thing about Life of Pi. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fi. Posted June 28, 2010 Share Posted June 28, 2010 Did anyone find a hidden message in The Life of Pi? I didn't get that book at all. I kept plowing on thinking there must be a great ending but finished the book thinking what a waste of my time reading it had been. I thought the same thing about Life of Pi. Same here! To this day I still don't understand why people rave about this book, the only reason I even managed to finish it was because I had to write a review for work Aside from Life Of Pi, I don't really "look" for messages in books, I primarily read for enjoyment and not to dissect a book to death wondering whether the use of one word over another means something earth-shattering! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dimitra Posted June 28, 2010 Share Posted June 28, 2010 A generally accepted theory is not necessarily correct. Everyone finds his own meanings in books and has his own interpretations. Now, if you didn't get it AT ALL, it's different. But sometimes I think that people are over-analyzing things when there may be no hidden message. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BookJumper Posted June 28, 2010 Share Posted June 28, 2010 But sometimes I think that people are over-analyzing things when there may be no hidden message.Did somebody say my name ? Seriously though, I wish it was something I could turn off at will, as I know full well that not every book requires the same level of analysis - but alas, my brain does it automatically whether I ask it to or not. Close Reading ruined me ! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nienna Posted June 29, 2010 Share Posted June 29, 2010 (edited) I'm quite a pretentious reader sometimes in that I actively look for the message of a book and if I can't find one I'll get all annoyed and call it a 'pointless' story. However, I have enough faith in writers to guess that most (respectable ones, anyway) probably write with a point or purpose in mind, so usually if you look out for a point you will find it. Not that I always agree with it! There are, of course, times when I miss a message, usually if I don't know anything about the subject in question, like certain periods of history or political situations, but I'll usually go and read up about them if I don't understand. For well-known and classic books I always read the intro and appendices which generally will explain stuff like that to me, so I don't have to research, which I guess is why I like a good intro! Most of what I know about history and politics, in fact, has come either directly from, or as a result of some novel or other. Edited June 29, 2010 by Nienna Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Clare_Star Posted June 29, 2010 Share Posted June 29, 2010 Little Women was the biggest shocker for me. I loved it as a child but the religious themes really passed me by! I still love the Little Women (and Good Wives) but I think it's in part because of my childhood fondness of the stories. Louisa May Alcott can be a big heavy handed at times. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Charm Posted June 29, 2010 Share Posted June 29, 2010 I never pick up a book looking for a message, hidden or otherwise. If the book entertains me then I consider it a good read. If it doesn't? Then I'll move on to one that does. Some books do affect me more than others in that I'll still be thinking of them for days after, but not in a deep 'what did it all mean' way. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chesilbeach Posted June 30, 2010 Share Posted June 30, 2010 Little Women was the biggest shocker for me. I loved it as a child but the religious themes really passed me by! I still love the Little Women (and Good Wives) but I think it's in part because of my childhood fondness of the stories. Louisa May Alcott can be a big heavy handed at times. There are religious themes in Little Women? See, I just read a lovely book about four girls growing up and never picked up on anything else! Story, story, story, that's all I want Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vanwa Posted June 30, 2010 Share Posted June 30, 2010 Put in spoiler tags just for you, Noll LOTR and Narnia were actually the result of a bet of sorts between Tolkien and Lewis to see who could write the best Christian parable in fantasy form! Giu, I'm curious. Where did this come from? To my knowledge, and as written by the man himself, Tolkien absolutely abhored allegory of any kind. Have I missed something?! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ooshie Posted June 30, 2010 Share Posted June 30, 2010 There are religious themes in Little Women? See, I just read a lovely book about four girls growing up and never picked up on anything else! Story, story, story, that's all I want That's all I took from it, too! Messages are truly wasted on me. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ian Posted July 2, 2010 Share Posted July 2, 2010 That's all I took from it, too! Messages are truly wasted on me. Oh I'm SOOOO glad it wasn't just me then!! I do this all the time. I'm ashamed to say that I even missed the message behind Stephen King's Tommyknockers, the first time I read it. In my defense, I was only about 18! I also suspect that I've taken a message from some books that simply weren't there! That's Ok though - If I get a positive message from something I've read, it's all good Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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