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The Reader I smiled back. I felt good, I was excited about a new start in a new class, and the girls. I had observed my mates in tenth grade: whether they had girls in their classes or not, they were afraid of them, or worshipped them. I knew my way around women, and could be comfortable and open in a friendly way. The girls liked that. I would get along with them well in the new class, which meant I'd get along with the boys too. Does everyone feel this way? When I was young, I was perpetually overconfident or
insecure. Either I felt completely useless, unattractive, and worthless, or that I was pretty
much a success, and everything I did was bound to succeed. When I was confident, I could
overcome the hardest challenges. But all it took was the smallest setback for me to be sure that
I was utterly worthless. Regaining my self-confidence had nothing to do with success; every goal
I set myself, every recognition I craved made anything I actually did seem paltry by comparison,
and whether I experienced it as a failure or triumph was utterly dependent on my mood. With Hanna
things felt good for weeks - in spite of our fights, in spite of the fact that she pushed me
away again and again, and again and again I crawled to her. And so summer in the new class began
well. Today's passage comes from The Reader by Bernhard Schlink. A really interesting book about a fifteen-year-old boy who has a relationship with a woman over thirty. While the first part of the book which talks about their erotic affair, is compelling, the second part, which is the re-meeting of the two characters in a much different circumstance is what makes this book such a great read. The excerpt is from the first part, when Michael starts a new year of school. |
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