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Date Posted: 05:05:11 01/24/05 Mon
Author: Jules
Subject: Books to feed the soul

I like to read a variety of books, from 'chick lit' to period classics such as Jane Austen's novels, to Black literature, such as Toni Morrison, but what links all these things together is that they feed the soul, and gives you an insight into human behaviour and emotions.

Books I have read recently include 'North and South' by Elizabeth Gatskell, 'Emma' and 'Persuasion' by Jane Austen, and 'The Wake Of The Wind' by J. California Cooper. The funny thing is, all of these books are set in the same era - 18th and 19th centuries, but they are very different. The books by Elizabeth Gatskell and Jane Austen were written in that period, but the book by J. California Cooper was written in 1998. That is not the only difference. Austen and Gatskell write about characters set in England, who do experience some level of difficulty (Margaret in 'North and South' is transported from her opulent upbringing in the South, to the harsh industrial North and Anne in 'Persuasion' is unloved by her immediate family, and has suffered a painful broken engagement), but their lives are ones which are lived in a social sphere which would be alien to most ordinary readers. Cooper writes about a reality which we all should be grateful that we were never part of: her book is set at the end of the American Civil War, and focuses on a group of newly emancipated slaves, and their struggle to survive and determination to succeed in a world where the odds are stacked against them. The funny thing about it, is that these books are set in almost parallel universes: the world that Cooper's characters are set in, make it possible for the world that Gatskell and Austen's characters are set in to exist. Be that as it may, it may seem strange that one can identify with characters from both of these worlds. I think that what ties the worlds together and links it to ours, is that love is a central theme. The discovery of love, the wonder of love, the fact that love often is what holds people together, and changes people. In North and South, our heroine Margaret learns that what she initially sees as the vulgar realism of life in the North is in fact a more honest way of living than the romaticism she so loved about the South. Her hero. Mr Thornton, also learns that what he saw as weaknesses in the way of life for people in the South, actually leads him to discover his own humanity.
'Emma' and 'Persuasion' in different ways also expand upon these themes, with our heroines both learning through their experiences with love that they are either mistaken in their views of themselves (Emma), or mistaken in placing the right to make decisions regarding our happiness in others (Persuasion).
'The Wake Of The Wind' shows us the power of love: that after being born into the most unimaginably cruel circumstances, and after witnessing some of the most heinious crimes and the most inhumane of behaviour, love and hope can still win. She draws a world with characters that are impossible not to identify with: to read them is to know them. Their pain becomes your pain, their hope becomes your hope, and their triumph becomes your triumph.

To me the best books are those that teaches you something about yourself. Although I do love to escape from reality when reading, what I love the most is putting a book down and having the feeling that you have learned a little more about your own desires and ambitions, and knowing that you have a little bit more power to fulfil them than you did before.

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