In Praise of Rereading

praise rereading dorothy sayers
For decades my escapist reading—with few exceptions—was mysteries. Once you know who did it, what would be the point? The one exception for me was Dorothy L. Sayers.  My motivation for rereading the Lord Peter Wimsey/Harriet Vane mysteries was to discover the early clues and figure out how she built to the big reveal. But I also discovered that Sayers’ characters—clear, distinct, and appealing—grew and developed.

 

I seldom read non-mysteries then, and rereads were even rarer. Two of those exceptions were Austen and Mitchell. They both were mirrors reflecting a period in history and characters that reside in real people, regardless of historical period.

 

praise rereading diana gabaldon books
Not too long ago I read and then reread Diana Gabaldon’s Outlander series. I reread because this is a far ranging saga. By the time certain characters play a major role I’d lost track of earlier cameo appearances. On rereading, I could appreciate how intricately interwoven the people, places and events were. Having written only two books with repeating characters (Dark Harbor and Tiger Heart) I marvel that the details didn’t trip over each other, that they didn’t contradict themselves, and that the characters matured (as opposed to changed).
new genre new year maas
More recently I read Sarah J. Maas’ series Throne of Glass. And now I am rereading it. Partly that’s because of the great experience rereading Gabaldon. But in addition, Maas has created a whole new world. As fantasy fiction, she’s created a new physical world, but also new history, new creatures, and new personal powers. The first read familiarized me with these aspects of the series. Like Gabaldon, Maas has characters who grow and change over time—but her timeframe is much more compacted. And as a series targeting young adults, I became very aware of the meta-messages inherent in the plot and characters.

 

winston graham books
My experience is that rereading a series is especially gratifying. Perhaps it should be required—in the interest of fully appreciating the author’s creativity and craft.

 

I’ve now committed to reading A Wrinkle in Time between now and March 9, prior to the movie premiere. It was touted as a reread. For me, it will be a read. My youngest daughter has read it many times. Her older daughter has read it. Her younger daughter received it for Christmas but hasn’t read it yet. Could I resist such a recommendation?

 

And the best part is, this is the first book in a series. There may be more rereads in my future!

 

Bottom line: Reread a favorite you haven’t read for several years. Is it as good as you remembered? Better? Different? Let me know.

 

Wrinkle Re-Read

Revisit an Old Love

dorothy l. sayers books
 
Many of you know that I am a die-hard fan of Dorothy L. Sayers. I recently reread Strong Poison. It is relatively early in her series. Needless to say, some of the language is dated. (It was published about 80 years ago, after all.) I hadn’t actually read Sayers in well over a decade. But in rereading, I found that my long-standing admiration is more than warranted.
 
strong poison dorothy l. sayers
[Source: Amazon]
 
In Strong Poison, she solved a poisoning case in a most ingenious way, and incidentally educated the reader about interesting twists and details about arsenical poisoning. In clearing the prime suspect, Wimsey not only found the real killer, but coincidentally developed a passion for the acquitted suspect that became a subplot going forward.
 
have his carcass dorothy l. sayers
[Source: Amazon]
 
Have His Carcass is the next novel in which the love interest develops. But the thing to note about this book is that knowing how it turns out, I can recognize, as I couldn’t on the first read, all the red herrings and dead-end hypotheses AND appreciate all the dropped clues and bits and pieces that make the reader say, “Of course!” when the solution is revealed. Sayers is a must-read for mystery writers!
 
dorothy sayers statue
Statue of Dorothy Sayers opposite her home at 24 Newland Street, Witham. [Creative Commons]
 
Injunction for readers: Revisit an old love—preferably one you haven’t read for five years or more. Knowing what happens, you can reread an old favorite and evaluate the craft. Do you still love it? Why or why not? As we approach the new year, appreciate the past.