Well, I first read (and loved) The Lord of the Rings when I was nine, but I was never a normal child. And just because children can read it doesn't mean it's a children's book. Though in this particular case I believe LOTR was shelved in children's, young adult, and adult fantasy, all in the same library, in order to increase exposure. Which really is a good thing - not all people were going to do what I did and browse all three sections. (I could be misremembering that it was in children's in this particular library, but I know that it was in three separate sections.)
Not at all intending to feed the sense of inferiority. No need to feel inferior if you don't mesh well with someone's style, or if you haven't gotten to something yet.
Yeah, as for children reading QoA, I don't think it would damage them, exactly. If I had read it younger, much of it would have cut deep, but it already did that. I want to say it's more the case that below a certain age they wouldn't really get it - the longing, the depression, the really complex emotions. Then again, I got LOTR when I was nine, so I don't know. Maybe it would be totally fine for a sensitive, perceptive child. I never intended to grow up to be someone who didn't understand children's minds, but I'm afraid I've done it.
Put it this way. The right kind of child could read QoA, understand it, and feel the emotions. But it won't resonate as deep as it will later, when you've been in love, or had a severe injury, or that sort of thing. Though that's true of many things. A lot of literature is much richer to me now that I'm older (early twenties) because I've had experiences that intensify and add complexity to the emotional resonance. Not even because a certain book event will remind me of a particular life event, but because there's a different way of experiencing the world that comes with being older.
It's awesome that QoA is on a reading list at your university. :) I hope you don't mind how long and personal this reply got.
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Not at all intending to feed the sense of inferiority. No need to feel inferior if you don't mesh well with someone's style, or if you haven't gotten to something yet.
Yeah, as for children reading QoA, I don't think it would damage them, exactly. If I had read it younger, much of it would have cut deep, but it already did that. I want to say it's more the case that below a certain age they wouldn't really get it - the longing, the depression, the really complex emotions. Then again, I got LOTR when I was nine, so I don't know. Maybe it would be totally fine for a sensitive, perceptive child. I never intended to grow up to be someone who didn't understand children's minds, but I'm afraid I've done it.
Put it this way. The right kind of child could read QoA, understand it, and feel the emotions. But it won't resonate as deep as it will later, when you've been in love, or had a severe injury, or that sort of thing. Though that's true of many things. A lot of literature is much richer to me now that I'm older (early twenties) because I've had experiences that intensify and add complexity to the emotional resonance. Not even because a certain book event will remind me of a particular life event, but because there's a different way of experiencing the world that comes with being older.
It's awesome that QoA is on a reading list at your university. :) I hope you don't mind how long and personal this reply got.