I understand exactly how you feel. I have read books that left me in tears, and books that had me feeling like I could fly.

I tend to side with “experience the lot”. I know I can’t experience everything on earth, but I can have a vicarious experience through reading.

I don’t worry about labeling the emotions I have while reading engaging fiction as “good” or “bad”. I am thankful that I had an opportunity to see the world from a new perspective. That is where the real value is.

I also don’t think it is important whether the experience is “genuine” or not. We manufacture so many emotions and responses already, how do we know the things we experience inside our own heads are genuine? When we allow ourselves to be transported into the mind and world of another human being through reading, we have to allow ourselves to become fully engaged in the experience. If we won’t do that, then there is no point in reading fiction.

I don’t quite understand why you feel your day was wrecked by the book. Could you explain that part a little bit more?

Hi Quint

I guess you are right when you say that we manufacture a lot of what we call emotions. I started writing an article called “In search of genuine emotions” a few weeks back but I stopped because I felt like I don’t know what I am talking about. Maybe that was true, or maybe that fear was a genuine emotion and I needn’t have worried? Who knows?

When I said that I felt like my day was wrecked, I guess I meant that I was thrown off balance by my experience between the covers of the book. I had a plan and some momentum for my day, and I intended to pick it up after I finished reading. When the time came, I felt a bit like my plans had been scuttled by my emotions. I no longer had the desire to do what I had planned, all I wanted to do was sit around and ponder the words I had read.

There is nothing wrong with that, but I feel like I wasn’t in control of my afternoon, but that my heart had taken over. As you said, maybe I too should be thankful that I had an opportunity to see the world from a new perspective.

Thanks

Tom

Tom,

It’s interesting what you said about genuine emotions, because I think the emotions brought out by art (books, music, theatre, etc.) are about as pure and genuine as you can get. You’re responding to the story that’s being told, the same way you’d respond to a friend telling you a story about something important in their life; the fact that you had such a visceral response to it means that you made some sort of connection with it - so the book did what it was supposed to.

Your response is exactly what we’re going for every time we put on a show in the theatre - and I think it’s what most artists are going for when they create. You were affected by your experience, both in your head and in your heart, and you took something away from it when it was over. It’s what most art strives for, and we don’t achieve it very often, so enjoy the experience when it happens! =)