When Books Are Important
Literature adds to reality, it does not simply describe it. It enriches the necessary competencies that daily life requires and provides; and in this respect, it irrigates the deserts that our lives have already become. - C. S. Lewis
If you didn't know, I'm planning to become a high school English teacher. Since I will be in the classroom in a few short years, I have been doing my best to stay up on popular young adult literature so that I can discuss and explore contemporary works that my students will be able to relate to easily. In this search, I came upon Exit, Pursued by a Bear by E. K. Johnston.
I finished this book in about seven hours. I just couldn't put it down. And I think it is one of the most important books I have read in a really long time.
When I say a book is "important", I don't mean that it's pretentious and should be considered a classic. To me, a book is important when it tells a story that needs to be told in a way that can help the reader better understand the human experience and empathize with others.
Exit, Pursued by a Bear does just that. It deals with real and difficult issues, like sexuality, betrayal, friendship, rape, and abortion. This book pulls no punches. I didn't agree with every choice the main character made, but that doesn't mean I couldn't learn from her story. It's her story, not mine.
Literature is a gateway to better understanding other humans. If you look back through the hundreds of years of literature that we have, many of the same tropes and stories appear again and again. We as humans all share fundamental feelings and thoughts and we all need to know that we are not alone. Through literature, we can share our experiences, our pain and sorrow, our joy, our very humanity.
I'm not going to tell you anything more about the plot of Exit, Pursued by a Bear. I want you to read it for yourself. My personal experience in reading it will be different than yours. The author brings what they can to the table, but the reader chooses what to take away. I have chosen to take away more empathy and an open heart, among other things. You will obtain your own ideas from your own reading. That's the beauty of literature. It is simultaneously extremely individual while also unifying all of its readers. Books that are important tell stories that affect the reader personally and allow them to empathize with the rest of humanity. Books that are important connect us, binding us together in our crazed and confusing, blustering and beautiful human experience. I hope that you find books that are important to you, ones that encourage you to open your heart and mind to the shared condition of all of the world's people. Keep reading. Keep living.
If you didn't know, I'm planning to become a high school English teacher. Since I will be in the classroom in a few short years, I have been doing my best to stay up on popular young adult literature so that I can discuss and explore contemporary works that my students will be able to relate to easily. In this search, I came upon Exit, Pursued by a Bear by E. K. Johnston.
I finished this book in about seven hours. I just couldn't put it down. And I think it is one of the most important books I have read in a really long time.
When I say a book is "important", I don't mean that it's pretentious and should be considered a classic. To me, a book is important when it tells a story that needs to be told in a way that can help the reader better understand the human experience and empathize with others.
Exit, Pursued by a Bear does just that. It deals with real and difficult issues, like sexuality, betrayal, friendship, rape, and abortion. This book pulls no punches. I didn't agree with every choice the main character made, but that doesn't mean I couldn't learn from her story. It's her story, not mine.
Literature is a gateway to better understanding other humans. If you look back through the hundreds of years of literature that we have, many of the same tropes and stories appear again and again. We as humans all share fundamental feelings and thoughts and we all need to know that we are not alone. Through literature, we can share our experiences, our pain and sorrow, our joy, our very humanity.
I'm not going to tell you anything more about the plot of Exit, Pursued by a Bear. I want you to read it for yourself. My personal experience in reading it will be different than yours. The author brings what they can to the table, but the reader chooses what to take away. I have chosen to take away more empathy and an open heart, among other things. You will obtain your own ideas from your own reading. That's the beauty of literature. It is simultaneously extremely individual while also unifying all of its readers. Books that are important tell stories that affect the reader personally and allow them to empathize with the rest of humanity. Books that are important connect us, binding us together in our crazed and confusing, blustering and beautiful human experience. I hope that you find books that are important to you, ones that encourage you to open your heart and mind to the shared condition of all of the world's people. Keep reading. Keep living.
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