Reading is not only an acquired taste it is also a skill that requires a certain amount of care and support. As if this wasn’t enough it also requires an attitude and interest. For a long time I have been away from literature. Almost all of my reading has been focused on non-fiction and the more I read the less I enjoyed fiction.
Recently I came across and bought Lyrical and Critical Essays by Albert Camus. He is an old favorite who I have unfortunately ignored for all too long. The work of Camus is thoughtful but not unapproachable. The best of all is his language and imagery. In the introduction to The Wrong Side and The Right Side (1958), which is included in the volume I am reading he writes:
I never new what real misfortune was until I saw our chilling suburbs…anyone who has known these industrial slums feels forever soiled, it seems to me, and responsible for their existence.
It feels wonderful to return to fictional works, they manage to touch with a freedom playfulness which, for obvious reasons, cannot be found in non-fictional works.