A book we were given to read in English class in high school in Germany. Loved it. I often wonder what makes the "Bildungsroman" my favourite genre. "Coming of age novel" is I suppose the English equivalent. And you provide two insights on that: "the pain of being an adolescent is universal" and even better "so many of us spent [why the past tense?] our adulthood unpicking all those disasters we made for ourselves at 16". Thanks for that!
Of course, if you're studying English Literature at degree level, you're absolutely going to use the German term, not the English ;) Watching the next generation go through that period, there's so much the sense of discovering the world, and all the experiences that are so going to define your adulthood all happening at once. It all feels so crucial and consequential. Also I suspect it's the bit of our lives most likely to have a discernable character arc: I *was* this child and now I *am* this adult - fits a novel neatly...
Thank you! It's our policy to try and avoid snark (too easy, if nothing else) but given how obsessed Holden is with honesty and phoniness it felt doubly inappropriate.
Loved this book. But what is the female equivalent? Can you think of one ? Female authors Jk Rowling and Sue Townsend wrote from the pov of pre adolescent boys not girls.
Hm - that's a good question - its tempting to list all the Brontës and I did just go and check what age Fanny Price is in Mansfield Park (she counts) but I'm not sure I can think of a twentieth century equivalent, it's true
Bonjour tristesse by francoise Sagan? Written when she was a teen. But female adolescent stories are always about relationships with men. The bechtel test should be applied to novels too.
It was never recommended to me. I found it by chance in the school library at age 13 or so, drawn by that distinctive plain silver Penguin cover (is there a story behind that?). I was a voracious reader anyway, but it made an impact on me like no other before (or maybe since). It cut deep. Maybe it’s something to do with it addressing the cusp of youth and adulthood just as you are at that point yourself…
A book we were given to read in English class in high school in Germany. Loved it. I often wonder what makes the "Bildungsroman" my favourite genre. "Coming of age novel" is I suppose the English equivalent. And you provide two insights on that: "the pain of being an adolescent is universal" and even better "so many of us spent [why the past tense?] our adulthood unpicking all those disasters we made for ourselves at 16". Thanks for that!
Of course, if you're studying English Literature at degree level, you're absolutely going to use the German term, not the English ;) Watching the next generation go through that period, there's so much the sense of discovering the world, and all the experiences that are so going to define your adulthood all happening at once. It all feels so crucial and consequential. Also I suspect it's the bit of our lives most likely to have a discernable character arc: I *was* this child and now I *am* this adult - fits a novel neatly...
Very nice, a sympathetic conversation between generations of readers and people, with a blessedly anachronistic absence of snark.
Thank you! It's our policy to try and avoid snark (too easy, if nothing else) but given how obsessed Holden is with honesty and phoniness it felt doubly inappropriate.
Loved this book. But what is the female equivalent? Can you think of one ? Female authors Jk Rowling and Sue Townsend wrote from the pov of pre adolescent boys not girls.
Hm - that's a good question - its tempting to list all the Brontës and I did just go and check what age Fanny Price is in Mansfield Park (she counts) but I'm not sure I can think of a twentieth century equivalent, it's true
Bonjour tristesse by francoise Sagan? Written when she was a teen. But female adolescent stories are always about relationships with men. The bechtel test should be applied to novels too.
Bechdel
And now you‘ve mentioned her, Alison Bechdel’s Fun Home is a contender, maybe?
Melissa Bank’s ‘A Girl’s Guide to Hunting & Fishing’ is a contender…
I don’t know that one. Will have a look
It was never recommended to me. I found it by chance in the school library at age 13 or so, drawn by that distinctive plain silver Penguin cover (is there a story behind that?). I was a voracious reader anyway, but it made an impact on me like no other before (or maybe since). It cut deep. Maybe it’s something to do with it addressing the cusp of youth and adulthood just as you are at that point yourself…