Re: Childhood and Literary Nihilism


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Posted by Robert Dilley on May 11, 1999 at 15:07:01 from geog-rc2006f.lakeheadu.ca:

In Reply to: Re: Childhood and Literary Nihilism posted by Brian Maskell on May 11, 1999 at 01:40:26:

While I agree with most of Brian Maskell's comments, I do take issue with his statement that "only well-heeled middle class families" read AR and the like in earlier times. My family was far from either yet we all read voraciously, dependent mostly on an excellent library system. I read somewhere a comment from a librarian -- responding to a criticism that AR's works were aimed at middle-class families with cooks and nannies -- to the effect that AR's books in her working-class area library needed rebinding more often than any others.
I do think it is a mistake to assume that children want to read about the everyday-world problems they face. Why would a kid whose parents are divorcing want to read about divorcing parents? If they can escape into a happier world where things essentially go right, they are more likely to go on reading. Why else the great market for Science Fiction among youngsters?



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