Appreciating a novel isn't always easy. Reading requires commitment and concentration or you risk losing your thread, getting bored and confused. The best novels, however, always pay off the reader's efforts with a depth and narrative power that would be lost if you just scrolled through the pages. Despite the necessary effort, reading a novel is also a fun and relaxing activity; with a little practice, it will come naturally to you to read even the most difficult books.
Steps
Method 1 of 2: Appreciate Complex Novels
Step 1. Eliminate any distractions
The best novels are able to transport you into history, absorbing you in their world and making the real one vanish. Giving your full attention to the book is the best way to read and understand it, whether it's a novel or a school text. However, novels are often written in a particular way: you may need time to get used to the author, his style, his narrative universe before you can understand them. In general you should:
- Avoid listening to sung music while you are reading;
- Try to read continuously for at least half an hour - it is very difficult to follow the story if you stop reading all the time;
- Free yourself from any external distractions, such as TV or interacting with other people.
Step 2. Try answering basic questions about the novel before addressing the main themes
As obvious as it may seem, taking five minutes to answer the following questions will give you a foundation on which to set your reading; concern the essential parts of the novel, which you need to be aware of before moving on to more complex issues:
- What does the protagonist want?
- Who tells the story?
- Where and when is the story set? Be specific.
- If you're having a hard time answering these questions, there's no harm in consulting a reading guide or going to see a plot summary on Wikipedia. It can help you grasp the basics quickly so you can start paying attention to the nuances.
Step 3. Reflect on the role of the narrator, if any
Novels are works of fiction; this means that, apart from perhaps in the introduction, the narrator is also invented. Is it part of history or is it alien to it? Is he omniscient or does he only know what certain characters know? And above all, is it reliable? One of the biggest problems a reader can run into is that of trusting the narrator too much, only to be blown away if he contradicts himself or makes a mistake, as if the author himself had made a mistake or could not understand the book. Unreliable storytellers, on the other hand, can provide excellent clues to get to understand the meaning of the work. After all, no human could ever be a perfect storyteller. Generally speaking, you should be careful in front of a storyteller who:
- Seems under the influence of alcohol or drugs (A Clockwork Orange);
- Has mental or social disabilities (The Scream and the Furore, The Strange Case of the Dog Killed at Midnight);
- He has reasons to lie, often because he has committed a crime or a wrongdoing (Lolita).
Step 4. Think about the style
Why is the novel written a certain way? Does it have a classic narrative form or is it structured in a more particular way, for example in the form of letters or diary? Does the author use difficult big words or simple, concise sentences? If you are in trouble, think for a moment about how the story is told, because it often says a lot about the story itself.
Are the events separated by long time intervals? Does the narrator seem to know what's going to happen or are you discovering it together?
Step 5. Summarize key events each time you finish a chapter or part of the novel
Take a moment to reflect on what happens in each chapter. What exactly has changed since the beginning of that section? Do you feel the characters have grown up? Has the plot thickened? Are you back to the starting point? After 4 or 5 chapters, you will realize that these short summaries are forming an overall outline of the novel.
- Try to follow the evolution of the characters. Once you understand how a character has changed over the course of a chapter, you can begin to understand why it has changed.
- If the story isn't told in chronological order, try rearranging the events yourself. Works like the Iliad or Absalom, Absalom! they are often difficult to read not because the plot is complicated, but because they don't follow a chronological order.
Step 6. Read with a partner or in a group
It is impossible to work out all the various concepts, themes and symbols that appear in a novel on your own, especially if you only read it once. Readings should always be shared and discussed; So try to get someone else to read the book with you. Stop to discuss certain points in the text and then talk about the book in general when finished. It is often the best way to analyze a complex novel without having to reread it.
Step 7. Look for symmetries, coincidences and recurring themes
The novels are carefully constructed; noting similarities between characters, chapters and settings, you can identify useful elements to understand the overall structure of the book. Equally important are situations that should be similar, but are instead different for some reason, for example in the case of a character returning home after a long time. What elements recur in the book? Why do you think they are important?
- In The Lord of the Orphans, the theme of cinema, actors and Hollywood appears repeatedly in the childhood of the protagonist. It is a crucial element, which however is revealed only in the last third of the novel.
- In The Great Gatsby, a flashing lighthouse off the coast is repeatedly mentioned, and this type of light reappears on many other occasions. All of these moments are tied to the character's desire for something he can't have.
Step 8. Review the beginning of the novel once you have finished reading it all
In order to fully understand and appreciate a novel, you must consider it as a whole. Moments that initially seemed superfluous or meaningless may acquire new meaning at the end of the book. Sometimes, it is the very last pages that give a total twist to the meaning, plot or theme of the work, as in Fight Club or Atonement. Once you've finished reading, review your notes or the first few chapters: do you see the novel differently?
What, in your opinion, is the theme of the book? Ultimately, what is the novel about?
Step 9. Form your personal opinion on the book, but one that is well founded
Ultimately, once a work is published, it is up to the reader to give it an interpretation. To read (and / or write) at your best, it is important to bring out your personality. Do you agree with the arguments of the book? Do you think the author managed to make you feel sympathy for the characters or did you hate them? You are free to have any opinion, as long as it is based on objective elements.
Quotes, summaries, and other notes can form the basis of your arguments. Whether you just want to discuss it with a friend or need to do a written assignment, you should always draw some supporting evidence from the novel
Method 2 of 2: Read a Study Novel
Step 1. Take notes, especially on passages that strike you or confuse you
It is vital to take careful notes when reading a novel for study purposes, especially if you have to write an essay on it. You should highlight or underline the most important passages and note in the margin why they are ("symbolism", "character change", "recurring metaphor", etc.). On separate sheets, you should jot down the most relevant scenes and developments, keeping track of the evolution of the characters and dominant themes, and taking note of the points in the text that you still cannot understand well.
- Take notes in class, marking important pages and phrases you may not have noticed.
- Be careful not to overdo the annotations. They should serve as a guide for you to do your work after you finish the book; if you underline everything, you will not be able to extrapolate useful information.
Step 2. Use literary terms in your analysis
If you want to communicate your point of view on a book as effectively as possible, having a good command of literary terminology would help you a lot. It is also useful for better understanding the novel while reading, as it allows you to give a name to the myriad of stylistic elements that meet and thus take more precise notes.
- Theme: the concepts, the arguments, the meaning of the book in general. It can be as simple as "good defeats evil" or as complex as "capitalism is destroying the modern family".
- Metaphor: suggests a similarity between two very distant realities. For example, the phrase "She is a rose" does not mean that the woman is literally a flower, but that she is beautiful, delicate or perhaps pungent, similar to the rose. Instead, we speak of "simile" when we use "like" or any other adverb, adjective or verb that expresses an idea of comparison; for example: "That woman is (beautiful) like a rose / is similar to a rose ".
- Leitmotiv: an idea, an image or an atmosphere that recurs in the text. If, for example, a book is full of metaphors about the ocean and about navigation, it can be said that it has a "nautical leitmotif".
- Allusion: an indirect reference to another work. For example, a character who sacrifices himself (The Two Cities) or who comes back to life after sacrificing himself (Harry Potter) is usually considered a "biblical allusion" to the figure of Jesus Christ.
- Symbolism: it is when an object that appears in the book evokes the idea of something else. Symbols are used continuously, even unconsciously, as man thinks in symbolic terms. For example, in Mice and Men, the rabbit farm symbolizes Lenny's dream of security and financial stability. A symbol comes to represent a much broader concept than it first appears.
Step 3. Examine the style of the novel and find connections with other texts
How is the story told, exactly? Is the tone humorous or mostly serious? Are the sentences long and difficult or short and flowing? Try to go beyond the narrated fact in and of itself and ask yourself why it is present in the book. Do you think the author has been influenced by other writers or artists, or by current events? If so, how do you use storytelling to express these influences? These are questions that have no right or wrong answers, but that you need to ask yourself in order to fully understand the novel.
Don't limit yourself to the plot - it's just one of the many elements that make up a novel. Some teachers encourage reading summaries before starting the book so that students, already knowing how the story ends, can focus more on the characters, themes and structure
Step 4. Find the links between form and function
The novels are structured on two levels: the first is the "function" and concerns the content (plot, theme, setting, etc.); the second is the "form" and concerns the style (perspective, structure, figures of speech, etc.). If attentive readers can detect both levels, the more skilled ones come to notice how they are connected to each other. How does form strengthen function?
- David Foster Wallace's Infinite Jest, for example, is basically about the nature of fun and, at least in part, asks if you should work to have fun. In analogy with this theme, half of the novel consists of footnotes that force the reader to laborious back and forth between the pages, the sentences and even the footnotes themselves.
- Even less demanding works must blend form and function in order to succeed. In Dracula, Bram Stoker tells a scary story through first-hand documents (letters and diary pages) instead of using the classic narrator, thus increasing the suspense and giving the impression that the events really happened somewhere in England.
Step 5. Consult outside sources
One of the best ways to deepen your analysis of the book is to investigate its context, as long as you name the authors from whom you draw the information. You could do some research on the historical period or on the author's biography; or you could read essays on literary criticism, which abound in the world of so-called "classic" works and which would be of great help in understanding the most complex novels.
- If you have to write a long paper, reading the opinions of other writers is a great way to lay the foundation for your arguments. Do you agree with what they say and can you provide additional supporting elements? Or do you think they are wrong and can you prove it based on the work in question?
- Always cite all the sources you use and give your personal contribution. External sources must serve as a starting point, not constitute your entire argument.
Advice
- Think about what you like and don't like about the novel. Your reaction to the content of the book is just as important as the content itself.
- Avoid any distractions. Try to read away from computers, televisions, cell phones, or anything that makes noise.
