I doubt any Canadian writing today would refer to himself/herself as a "voice from the attic," but 1960 was a different world, and the cover says, "An invigorating exploration of the wonderful world of reading by one of Canada's most brilliant writers and critics." My copy is a paperback edition dated 1972 and labeled as #83 in the New Canadian Library Series. When I pulled this book off the "over the door paperback rack" in January, I hesitated a moment. Did I want to read a book that must be horribly dated and probably stodgy? I've read novels by Davies and loved them, seen plays of his works in performance and loved them, and enjoyed listening to him speak once even when I did not agree with some of his statements; however, I thought this would be a dry book to read. FAR from dry, never stodgy, and amazingly contemporary, A Voice From the Attic is a mesmerizing read from start to finish.
The first section of the book entitled “A Call to the Clerisy” is a challenge to those of us who read with a purpose beyond entertainment. The American Heritage Dictionary defines clerisy as “educated people as a class” while Merriam-Webster online states “intelligentsia.” Davies refines his use of the word: “The clerisy are those who read for pleasure, but not for idleness; who read for pastime but not to kill time; who love books, but do not live by books” (7). He goes on to discuss which readers would not fit into this description. He frowns on the readers whose “…prize they seek is to have done with the book in hand” (9). The goal should not be completion or how many books I have read; the goal is “…the actual business of reading—the interpretative act of getting the words off the page and into your head in the most effective way. It is not the quickest way of reading…” (8).
I have been reading with pen in hand since college. There are times when I drop the pen; those are the times when I am reading for the joy of it (I refuse to call it killing time). The Interceptor by Dick Wolf is a perfect example of this kind of reading. Dick Wolf is the creator of the Law & Order series, and when I heard he had written a novel, I wanted to read it because of the television shows; it was a good read. Will I read it again? No, but I enjoyed reading it once. When I read as a self-proclaimed member of the clerisy, I am reading a book that remains in my home because I may want to read it again due to its use of language, connection with other works and other writers, multiple layers of meaning, etc. There are books that fit in both categories: the Harry Potter series is a fine example. I have read each of these books more than once and listened to them on CD. I could write a scholarly paper on them if I so desired, but I do not have a desire to write about them. I read them or listen to them for the sheer joy of the story line. I will return to those books many times; they are the reading equivalent of comfort food.
I have digressed a bit, but this book has reinvigorated my
love of reading in depth. Davies has
sections on books of self-help; on love, sex, and sexuality; psychology;
reading plays; comedy; pornography vs. erotica, and the closing chapter addresses
best sellers vs. what may become a classic. One other chapter entitled “From
the Well of the Past” discusses the need to read novels of a time period in
order to truly understand the time period; however, the recommendation he makes
may surprise the reader: “…we must look
for that which has been thought and said most, and most heeded, in the segment
of the past which is our choice…not the great fiction, but the popular fiction”
(113). He then goes on to give examples
of best sellers from Victorian England.
At the time there were still people from the late Victorian age alive to
answer questions and discuss the times; however, “The Victorians
of a century ago were nearer in feeling to the eighteenth, yes, and to the
seventeenth century than to our own; to have known them is to hold the key to
an even more remote past” (113). This
concept of the time period he chose got me thinking about which time period
would work for me should I address this task.
The 1940s and 1950s? As I
continue to read and reflect on my reading, I will continue to reflect on this idea and hope to return
to it.
He returns to the responsibilities of being a member of the clerisy
at the end of the book: “The first task
of the clerisy is not to belabor others to read more, but to improve their own
performance. The influence which the
clerisy can exert will come by doing, not by exhorting others to do”
(293-4). As he examines the writers of
his time, Davies reflects on the changes the new millennia will bring and
closes with one more message for the clerisy:
“It is for the clerisy to show themselves more alert, more courageous,
and better prepared, so that when the first shafts of the dawn appear in our
present night, they will know them for what they are” (351).
Robertson Davies died in 1995. Prior to his death in addition to a revised
edition of this book, he also published another book on books and reading. I am searching for copies of these to see
what else he had to say in the last 25 years of the 20th Century.
Davies, Robertson. A Voice From the Attic. Toronto: McClelland and
Stewart, 1972. Print.
No comments:
Post a Comment