I’ve reread a few books that I last read in high school 15 years ago, and my current opinion doesn’t always match up with what I originally thought about the book. Any books you’ve reread that felt much different later in life?
A few for me
**The Handmaid’s Tale, by Margaret Atwood** — read it in high school and thought it was hand-wringing and stupid. Reread it this year and no longer think that.
**The Book Thief, by Marcus Zusak** — YA fiction, which I almost never read. But I remember thinking it was so smart and cool in high school — it’s narrated by *Death*! How original! As an adult it just felt like a lame gimmick.
**The Dogs of Babel, by Carolyn Parkhurst** — As a teen I strongly identified with the character Lexy, to the extent that I (embarrassingly) briefly started introducing myself as Lexy when I went to college (in my defense, my middle name *is* Alexandra). I still enjoyed it as an adult, but Lexy was too much of a flighty manic pixie dream girl for me
And some evergreen books
**The Great Gatsby, by F Scott Fitzgerald** — something about 30 year old Gatsby and Nick and Daisy and Tom spoke to me when I was 16, and still speaks to me at 33. Presumably I’ll still feel a connection in my dotage.
**Life of Pi, by Yann Martel** — I love this book. It’s a perfect allegorical novel.
**St Lucy’s Home for Girls Raised by Wolves, by Karen Russell** — short stories by the eminently bizarre Karen Russell. This was my favorite book in high school, and you know what? It’s still great. Bizarre and original without being gimmicky, a delight to read
by zenocrate