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Originally Posted by evollove
Funny. I picked up an Updike book over the weekend. My Updike collection is now at 49 books. This number drives me nuts, so I may order something today. Yes, just to have a round 50.
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Moby Dick does get better with age, but anyone who says shit like "no one under 40 will get it" thinks they know more about life and literature than they actually do. I'd feel bad for such people if I so strongly did not feel bad.
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Thing is, I read Moby Dick -- at least a fair chunk of it -- when I was in junior high. But, along with a lot of the other classics I put away during that time (The Scarlet Letter, Jane Eyre), I've forgotten more than I ever knew, so for all intents and purposes I've never read the thing. Just being honest. Maybe 40 is a bit high for a minimum age requirement, but 14 is probably a little low. Honestly, how much can you really know those books when you understand so little about everything else, one self included?
Anyway, I forgot where I heard that "nobody under 40" thing, but it feels like the kind of thing my "look-at-me-I'm-a-literature-guy" father would say. But it stuck with me, and I thankfully still have some time before I hit that age. If anyone wants to offer me a compelling reason to ignore the advice and read the book now, I'm all ears.