For July the hosts of The Classics Club have another member submitted question asking “What classic book has changed your view on life, social mores, political views of religion?”
I have to agree with Karen over at BookerTalk that these questions are getting more and more difficult as the year continues and this one in particular is incredibly difficult to answer. So many books have helped to define who I am as a person and very few of them are classics, but I do have two in mind for this monthly meme. My first thought was Bastard Out of Carolina by Dorothy Allison and there is no question that it opened my eyes, but it didn’t have such a profound impact on my views of the ‘old south’ as the second novel that came to mind: Alice Walker’s The Color Purple.
Both of these novels, in addition to many other southern novels such as those by Truman Capote, Carson McCullers and Jim Grimsley, opened my eyes to the poverty of the south that I was not aware of. In high school I remember reading about poverty in urban areas, but I don’t ever remember reading about it being so close to home. What those novels have done is they have further polished my thoughts that helping locally is just as important, if not more so, than sending money and goods to foreign countries. I’m not saying you shouldn’t do those things, but when there are places in the US which are in dire poverty, why would we not help them? The amount of overhead cost to send things abroad would increase the amount of aid to a more local project/concern.
I grew up in a very small town in Central NY. Needless to say, the demographics in my school district (and other immediate areas) were not the least bit diverse. Reading helped me learn about different people and places, and it taught me so many things about life “on the outside.” I don’t know if I could pick just one or two books to answer this question. This is a tough one.
It is tough. Those two have just kept with me and I’ve read them both only in the past few years. I cannot imagine having read them when I was younger. There is a book, The Only Alien on the Planet, I read growing up which bothered me a lot and I still have a copy of it and want to re-read it soon.
Wow that is a difficult question to answer. And I liked your answer. It’s amazing that we have such poverty in the States. Heartbreaking really. I mean I hate seeing poverty anywhere, but when it is so close to home it really makes you stop and think.
And thanks for adding my book cover for your next book to read. You are the best!
It really is and what bothers me is how many young people only think it’s a ‘third world’ problem. I mean I grew up in a middle class community, but some areas in my home state still don’t have running water or electricity. People really need to look closer to home some times, not that poverty elsewhere isn’t as bad.
Also, I’m excited to read it! You’ve hyped it up enough 😀 And if I remember I’ll snap a picture of it on my next walk, but I saw a rock with TBM spray painted on it randomly and I had to do a double take. I went, hey I know those initials!
I promise it wasn’t me. Where did you spy it? I’m really curious to know.
Haahaa I would be surprised if it was you. It was on the Somerville Community Bike Path extension. I’m pretty sure it just appeared I walk that path pretty often.
I wonder who did it.