為什麼要讀小說?

200712061142為什麼要讀小說?

241筆記

 

 

I think the act of reading imbues the reader

with a sensitivity towards the outside world

that people who don’t read can sometimes lack.

I know it seems like a contradiction in terms;

after all, reading is such a solitary act

that it appears to represent a disengagement from day-to-day life.

But reading, and particularly the reading of fiction,

encourages us to view the world in new and challenging ways.

I have always believed that fiction acts as a prism,

taking the reality of our existence

and breaking it down into its constituent parts,

allowing us to see them in a completely different form.

It allows us to inhabit the consciousness of another,

which is a precursor to empathy,

and empathy is, for me,

one of the marks of a decent human being.

 

John Connolly, author of THE BOOK OF LOST THINGS

 

我認為閱讀會讓一個讀者

對外在的世界更敏感

(這種敏感度往往是不讀書的人所欠缺的)

這聽起來好像有一點矛盾

因為閱讀是一個人做的事

而且閱讀似乎是一種遁世的行為

但是閱讀，特別是閱讀小說

會鼓勵我們用新的角度 更具有挑戰性的方式 來看世界

我一直認為小說像菱鏡一樣

會把現實生活

切割打散成五顏六色

讓我們眼界大開

讓我們進入他人的意識

懂得設身處地

進而培養同理心

對我而言

人要有同理心 才稱得上是好人

 

約翰 康諾力， <失物之書>的作者