What to look out for

    OUP have brought out a centenary edition of Alain-Fournier's The Lost Domain: Le Grand Meaulnes translated by Frank Davison and with an introduction by Hermione Lee, and you can see Dame Hermione talk briefly about the book here. What she says is very interesting, especially in the light of our CBG discussion on the book; had I not already read it, her summing up would draw me in.

    This leads me to wonder whether there is not a place for the equivalent of a set of signposts at the beginning of certain books - in addition to the conventional introduction which I always read after the text as it so often gives away crucial parts of the plot - more a 'what to look out for', a pointer towards key themes, stylistic quirks, and so on, which would inform your reading, as Hermione Lee does in her short video, with the detailed analysis and contextual exposition and comment being left for later.

Comments

[Lyn]

What a good idea! I always read the Introduction after reading the book but there's often interesting information about the author, their motivations, influences etc that would have been useful to know when reading the book. Very few Introductions (especially of the classics) don't give away the plot.

[Cornflower]

Glad you think it's a good idea, Lyn!

[Dark Puss]

I completely agree with you about conventional "introductions" (though most of the books I read don't have them) and like you if I read them at all it will be after I have read the novel. As to signposts, I have no objection to them adding a few more pages but I certainly won't be reading them. I really want to make my own journey, uninformed and partially sighted as it will undoubtably be, through the book. As you know, unlike yourself and perhaps 99% of Cornflower's readers, I am not particularly interested in the influences or motivation of the author. I apologise for not having had time to look at Lee's video; had I done so I might have made a more informed comment.