I’m not one who regularly watches a movie more than once. Nor do I usually re-read a book. But I’m beginning to think I’ve been missing out on something.
After a gap of perhaps 5 years, I started re-reading the Aubrey-Maturin series by Patrick O’Brian. And what an interesting experience it’s proving to be. During that first reading, I gulped down all 20 books in quick succession. Plot momentum and character development were prime motivators during that first marathon read. I just wanted to know what happened next.
Now, years later, and with the general outline of events already in my brain, I’m discovering subtleties of tone and voice that I’d never before appreciated. Like the second tasting of a fine wine, nuances of flavor and texture now appear.
For example, one scene I would have bet my life having occurred in the book was a particularly gruesome emergency brain surgery that took place aboard ship. I can see this scene as clear as crystal in my mind’s eye. Upon re-reading, I found that the actual scene never took place, only a re-telling of it after the fact. I’m not sure if I should chalk that up to my own vivid imagination or O’Brian’s equally vivid prose.
Another example is one character’s double-life as a spy, which, (now knowing he is one), becomes all the more rich and complex. Heretofore, I’d never colored the character’s action or dialogue with that knowledge. Now, this character’s every vague retort or absence from a scene or situation signifies his secret life, as well as his wish to protect friends and family from his liasons dangereuses.
So much for re-reading beloved favorites. Now, I’m thinking about books I started but never finished. Proust? Rand? Mysteries? Maybe I should give them a second chance as well. Where will it end? As they say: so many books, so little time.
