The Uncommon Reader: A Novella

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It's a hit!

Maybe because of my current teaching position, which is in an intervention reading class, I was enamored with _The Uncommon Reader_ from start to f... (show more)

Maybe because of my current teaching position, which is in an intervention reading class, I was enamored with _The Uncommon Reader_ from start to finish. This novella is charming, accessible, inspirational, and wonderful. Bennett's paean to reading blesses all of us with reminders of how reading can alter anyone's life.

The Queen is an indispensable protagonist. Even as an American, I view the Queen as an embodiment of grace and prudence, and Bennett's Queen is as magisterial as possible. The fact that the Queen can fall prey to serendipity, and benefit from it, highlights the intrinsic parable in this story. She fancies herself "a doer" (7), and we infer the public supposition that reading is not doing; her private secretary warns that "while [reading] is not exactly elitist ... It tends to exclude (27); and Bennett makes a crucial point that the selection of books must fit the reader, lest the "novice reader [might be] put off reading for good" and think that "Books [are] work" (13). In all cases, much as Oprah Winfrey has done in the U.S., the Queen is "setting [people] a good example" (27).

As the story progresses, the Queen blossoms as a critical reader, learns greater empathy from the insights of characters, and evolves as a person. Bennett makes it clear that reading does not change a person, but that it strongly affects her. I was not surprised to see the Queen's reading habits come full circle, when she re-rediscovers Ivy Compton-Burnett (one of many authors of whose relevance and timelessness Bennett reminds us). At this point, she steals a refrain from my Intervention Reading class, that "reading [is] a muscle" (99). This propels her towards the climax, where the profound thinker she now is rediscovers the "doer" she had always been.

I encountered this novella on a display in my public library. I will return it this week, but I have already ordered a copy for my personal library. This is a book that I will impress upon others frequently, a story that I will reread many times, and a text that I will treasure to the grave. (show less)

 

 

by Facebook-användare

No, it's a flop!

Didn't really enjoy this .. suppose I just didn't get the plot line it ! Yet like the Queen I had to finish it - hell it was only 121 pages long !

 

 

by Cheryl Young

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  Alan Bennett can do no wrong. Even taking the ridiculous storyline that the Queen, while taking her Corgis for a walk, stumbles upon a library and begins reading he manages to tell it with such wit, intelligence and feeling that it becomes a truly moving story.

  His account of someone with a love for literature showed me how I have changed since finding a passion for reading. The way it makes the rest of life pale in comparison to what is in books, the feeling of not having enough time in t... (show more)

  Alan Bennett can do no wrong. Even taking the ridiculous storyline that the Queen, while taking her Corgis for a walk, stumbles upon a library and begins reading he manages to tell it with such wit, intelligence and feeling that it becomes a truly moving story.

  His account of someone with a love for literature showed me how I have changed since finding a passion for reading. The way it makes the rest of life pale in comparison to what is in books, the feeling of not having enough time in the world left to read everything you want to, the almost evangelical approach you take to those who do not read, the feeling of companionship and understanding (almost souls meeting) you have when you meet someone who has loved the same book as yourself.

  The book was such a pleasure to read, polish6ed off within a couple of hours and loved throughout. (show less)

   

   

  by Zoe Michel on Jul 19, 2009 at 11:33AM

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  A novella in the truest sense of the word – as it takes a mere two hours to devour this – Bennett’s latest literary effort unfolds as a quick and thought-provoking read. The premise: Queen Elizabeth – the second and most current monarch atop the British throne – becomes a reader, almost by accident one morning while she’s out walking the royal corgies. And in due time, she gradually develops some rather refined tastes and insights into a life well-lived amidst books.

  In this journey of liter... (show more)

  A novella in the truest sense of the word – as it takes a mere two hours to devour this – Bennett’s latest literary effort unfolds as a quick and thought-provoking read. The premise: Queen Elizabeth – the second and most current monarch atop the British throne – becomes a reader, almost by accident one morning while she’s out walking the royal corgies. And in due time, she gradually develops some rather refined tastes and insights into a life well-lived amidst books.

  In this journey of literary self-discovery, her Royal Highness begins to espouse – much to the chagrin of her closest acquaintances and staff alike – many a bewildering and pithy turn of phrase. In reply to being briefed before a meeting, she astutely remarks, “Briefing is not reading. In fact it is the antithesis of reading. Briefing is terse, factual, and to the point. Reading is untidy, discursive, and perpetually inviting. Which, of course, aptly describes Bennett’s charming tale itself.

  An Uncommon Reader is as much a hymn to a literary life as it is an ink-blot test. In the tradition of the film The Queen from just a few years back, Bennett uses Elizabeth II as a vehicle to not just advocate for the bookish set, but also to gently skewer current political mores against deep and considered thinking. (I won’t spoil the clever ending on this last point.)

  For a cleverly original summer read that doesn’t aim to be overly pretentious, this novella is hard to beat. (show less)

   

   

  by Erik Wise on Jun 17, 2009 at 01:12PM

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