Thank you so much! I think one day I will. Once I get through the two books I'm working on, and I'm feeling nostalgia for my daughter's childhood, I bet. <3
What a lovely essay. When I read about the moment where you mentioned trying to make the pencils fly with your mind, I had a sudden rush of recognition: I remember doing the same kind of thing as a kid, hoping against hope that I would one day reveal something extraordinary about myself (preferably telepathy or that holy grail, the power to freeze time).
Ha, I love this, Isaac! I imagine there are so many of us that stopped and did this, for precisely the reason you say: "I remember doing the same kind of thing as a kid, hoping against hope that I would one day reveal something extraordinary about myself..." We all want to be extraordinary and seen. xo
I think one of the parts that really moved me is that your daughter didn’t appreciate it the same as you (for good reason!). As someone who writes about children’s books it’s just another reminder that we all connect with books so differently based on the context of our own history and background and it starts young!
Your interpretation of Matilda is totally different than mine but it’s beautiful in its own way. One of the reason I love this newsletter. We all bring our own unique perspectives and experiences and it’s such a joy to read.
This is an interesting lesson to me of cultures. How much difference exposure makes.
I was in my teens when I read Roald Dahl's short stories and I absolutely adored them. The quirky, said inevitability in them.
But that was the only one of his books at that time, that was translated to Hungarian. By the time I moved to Canada and learned English, I was no longer the target audience for Matilda, The fantastic Mr. Fox and Charlie and the chocolate factory. I saw the movies, but they couldn't possibly talk to me the way they could have, if I had the chance to read them as a child.
So much depends upon when and how we encounter a book, doesn't it? I first read Lorrie Moore's SELF HELP in Paris, in part b/c my French was not good enough to read lit not in English, and it meant focused entirely on that book, which speaks directly to one's twenties (or mine, at least).
Thank you for this engaging piece. My son loved James and the Giant Peach so much I got The Fantastic Mr Fox and read that to him. Oops! Didn’t realize there would be so much violence but we both loved the story. 😬🙊
I love this so much. I hope you are able to write the book one day in which a Matilda type character saves herself.
Thank you so much! I think one day I will. Once I get through the two books I'm working on, and I'm feeling nostalgia for my daughter's childhood, I bet. <3
What a lovely essay. When I read about the moment where you mentioned trying to make the pencils fly with your mind, I had a sudden rush of recognition: I remember doing the same kind of thing as a kid, hoping against hope that I would one day reveal something extraordinary about myself (preferably telepathy or that holy grail, the power to freeze time).
Ha, I love this, Isaac! I imagine there are so many of us that stopped and did this, for precisely the reason you say: "I remember doing the same kind of thing as a kid, hoping against hope that I would one day reveal something extraordinary about myself..." We all want to be extraordinary and seen. xo
Same! I wonder if this is more common than we realize? Or a symptom of an over-active imagination?
I think one of the parts that really moved me is that your daughter didn’t appreciate it the same as you (for good reason!). As someone who writes about children’s books it’s just another reminder that we all connect with books so differently based on the context of our own history and background and it starts young!
Your interpretation of Matilda is totally different than mine but it’s beautiful in its own way. One of the reason I love this newsletter. We all bring our own unique perspectives and experiences and it’s such a joy to read.
Thank you for your comment, Sri! So so true what you say! The best lit invites us to see into it and interpret in several ways.
Also I'd love to hear how you experienced the book!
This is an interesting lesson to me of cultures. How much difference exposure makes.
I was in my teens when I read Roald Dahl's short stories and I absolutely adored them. The quirky, said inevitability in them.
But that was the only one of his books at that time, that was translated to Hungarian. By the time I moved to Canada and learned English, I was no longer the target audience for Matilda, The fantastic Mr. Fox and Charlie and the chocolate factory. I saw the movies, but they couldn't possibly talk to me the way they could have, if I had the chance to read them as a child.
So much depends upon when and how we encounter a book, doesn't it? I first read Lorrie Moore's SELF HELP in Paris, in part b/c my French was not good enough to read lit not in English, and it meant focused entirely on that book, which speaks directly to one's twenties (or mine, at least).
Thank you for this engaging piece. My son loved James and the Giant Peach so much I got The Fantastic Mr Fox and read that to him. Oops! Didn’t realize there would be so much violence but we both loved the story. 😬🙊