Radiance

 I still love this book.

I was a little worried, honestly. It's been a few years since I read it. My life has changed a lot. I think about this book a lot, and I wasn't sure if the version in my mind still resembled the actual book. It was possible that in interpreting and reinterpreting this book over the years, I'd built it up so much in my mind that re-reading it would be an exercise in disappointment.

But that didn't happen. I loved this book, and I still love it. Everything I remembered was still there. And there were new things as well. References and details I didn't catch the first time through that just added even more layers.

I was also surprised by the subtle ways my perspective changed. I remember not really liking the gothic section the last time I read it. It felt overdone and a little too much. This time I understood it better, and therefore I like it better. But the noir section rubbed me a little wrong.

The thing about this book that has me the most excited is that I feel like I'm still growing into it. There are definitely books that I considered favorites at one time but that I grew past. Those books will always have a special place in my heart, but I probably won't read them again. I'm done with them. I'm not done with Radiance yet. And it's not done with me.

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