A review by bookshelfkeeps
The Things That Matter: What Seven Classic Novels Have to Say about the Stages of Life by Edward Mendelson
3.0
Synopsis: The Things That Matter takes on the rather difficult and daunting task of looking at seven classic novels — all written by women — and explaining what they have to say about stages of life.
How we met: What drew me in was the title, the concept and the great introduction with phrases like: “this book is written for all readers, of any age, who are still deciding how to live their lives,” and the idea that although novels are compact and highly organized portraying happy endings that are false or contrived to the “real” world, there is STILL real value to be gained in our own inner lives.
*It was also cool to learn that the author is a professor of English and comparative literature at Columbia University (even though it’s less cool he’s a man trying to explain/understand female writers).
My thoughts: However, although the book did offer some beautiful ideas that resonated with me, it fell drastically short in accomplishing relationality between text and the reader. Firstly, this is not a “book anyone can pick up,” this is a book for a college class looking at these specific novels and doing comparative analysis. When I started reading I actually I didn’t mind this, as my own inner-nerd likes comparative studies; however, what really disappointed me was that after Mendelson did his analytical dive into the characters and life stages, he never brought it back to what these ideas had to do with stages of life for the readers. In other words, I kept waiting for “Okay, now this is what Jane Eyre can teach you about growth in your own life,” as the introduction seemed to advertise as a big part of the book’s purpose. This made it really hard to finish this book.
Advice for future interested readers:
This is NOT a book to sit and read in one sitting, it’s a book to get if you want to dive deeper into the following novels Frankenstein, Wuthering Heights, Jane Eyre, Middlemarch, Mrs. Dalloway, To the Lighthouse, or Between the Acts. I feel like it’d be a great companion to a college course.
Spot on Shelf? Glad I gave it a go, such a cool concept, sadly didn't meet the purpose I was really hoping for so I don't suspect I'll hold onto it long. But again, a great companion for a Literature course.
How we met: What drew me in was the title, the concept and the great introduction with phrases like: “this book is written for all readers, of any age, who are still deciding how to live their lives,” and the idea that although novels are compact and highly organized portraying happy endings that are false or contrived to the “real” world, there is STILL real value to be gained in our own inner lives.
*It was also cool to learn that the author is a professor of English and comparative literature at Columbia University (even though it’s less cool he’s a man trying to explain/understand female writers).
My thoughts: However, although the book did offer some beautiful ideas that resonated with me, it fell drastically short in accomplishing relationality between text and the reader. Firstly, this is not a “book anyone can pick up,” this is a book for a college class looking at these specific novels and doing comparative analysis. When I started reading I actually I didn’t mind this, as my own inner-nerd likes comparative studies; however, what really disappointed me was that after Mendelson did his analytical dive into the characters and life stages, he never brought it back to what these ideas had to do with stages of life for the readers. In other words, I kept waiting for “Okay, now this is what Jane Eyre can teach you about growth in your own life,” as the introduction seemed to advertise as a big part of the book’s purpose. This made it really hard to finish this book.
Advice for future interested readers:
This is NOT a book to sit and read in one sitting, it’s a book to get if you want to dive deeper into the following novels Frankenstein, Wuthering Heights, Jane Eyre, Middlemarch, Mrs. Dalloway, To the Lighthouse, or Between the Acts. I feel like it’d be a great companion to a college course.
Spot on Shelf? Glad I gave it a go, such a cool concept, sadly didn't meet the purpose I was really hoping for so I don't suspect I'll hold onto it long. But again, a great companion for a Literature course.