Review
This short book is a polemic on the theme, "Young people nowadays don't like to read"? Why not? And even when it's repeated over and over, in our society, that reading is important, when schools insist on infusing books into their students... could that be the problem? Reading as duty; when you're assigned a book, you know you'll be quizzed, expected to demonstrate that you've "comprehended" it.
Comme un roman is Pennac's passionate plea in favor of the pleasure of reading, which, he says, only comes for free, nothing demanded in return. He talks about bringing back pleasure in both family and school settings; the central idea is for a parent or teacher to share something that they themself are enthusiastic about. He considers reading aloud indispensable. Reading is a private act, but the voice of an enthusiastic reader-aloud provides a bridge into the text for someone who isn't ready to just dive into it yet -- and that's not only before a child starts school.
A quirky book, this, not completely persuasive to me, sometimes seeming sentimentalized (and won't someone who tries to follow Pennac's prescriptions be disappointed if the results aren't as wonderful as the glowing picture he paints?); but very much worth reading; some of it is downright quotable.
Comme un roman is Pennac's passionate plea in favor of the pleasure of reading, which, he says, only comes for free, nothing demanded in return. He talks about bringing back pleasure in both family and school settings; the central idea is for a parent or teacher to share something that they themself are enthusiastic about. He considers reading aloud indispensable. Reading is a private act, but the voice of an enthusiastic reader-aloud provides a bridge into the text for someone who isn't ready to just dive into it yet -- and that's not only before a child starts school.
A quirky book, this, not completely persuasive to me, sometimes seeming sentimentalized (and won't someone who tries to follow Pennac's prescriptions be disappointed if the results aren't as wonderful as the glowing picture he paints?); but very much worth reading; some of it is downright quotable.
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