Tuesday, March 30, 2010

Wait

Spotted, waiting on the metro platform: young woman, maybe 20 years old, but I doubt it, reading First Love, by Ivan Turgenev (in French).

I wanted to pat her on the arm, take the book away from her. You're too young, dear. Wait 20 years, then you might understand it.

1 comment:

Emily said...

Oh, you were so right not to, though! This actually happened to me when I was 10 & reading The Waste Land for the first time - a very condescending woman in the bookstore questioned whether I would "really understand what was going on." I wish I'd responded, "Do you?" :-P

I mean, at the very least I learned excellent, unexpected rhythms and mysterious juxtapositions. I still get mad when I think about that woman.