High schoolers especially are in need of reading like this: structure that they can’t quite parse, insane length, hypnotic language and loose ends will do them well in a sea of formulaic novels that ‘lend themselves’ to being taught in time-sensitive classes. Moreover, the novel is in some ways a brutal foil for the teenage experience – Blake Butler recently mused that the book “seems like it was written by an extremely intelligent alien; someone trying so intricately and direly to figure out humans and so utterly, utterly failing.” We don’t know about you, but we remember this feeling. Pair that with a much-needed warning against over-entertainment, and there’s something every high schooler should take a look at.
Books you should’ve read in high school
It would help. But I would settle for a HS madatory screening of his Kenyon Speech.
That is mandatory for all living human beings.
