Xilka Posted March 1, 2012 Share Posted March 1, 2012 Would you read Kafka's "Metamorphosis" with your 9yo? Why, or why not? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Geo Posted March 1, 2012 Share Posted March 1, 2012 Would you read Kafka's "Metamorphosis" with your 9yo?Why, or why not? Couldn’t read it for its perversity. The human mind isn’t complicated enough" Albert Einstein, after returning a Kafka novel loaned to him by Thomas Mann. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Spy Car Posted March 1, 2012 Share Posted March 1, 2012 Absolutely! Bill Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jean in Newcastle Posted March 1, 2012 Share Posted March 1, 2012 No. I think that certain books need to be read when people are at the right maturity level to read them to really get the most out of them. That depends on a whole lot of things - reading level, difficulty/complexity of the themes and issues (the one I'd focus on with this work), a certain amount of life experience to bring to the reading. . . Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Geo Posted March 1, 2012 Share Posted March 1, 2012 (edited) No. I think that certain books need to be read when people are at the right maturity level to read them to really get the most out of them. That depends on a whole lot of things - reading level, difficulty/complexity of the themes and issues (the one I'd focus on with this work), a certain amount of life experience to bring to the reading. . . This too. :rolleyes: Edited March 1, 2012 by Geo added smilie Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Spy Car Posted March 1, 2012 Share Posted March 1, 2012 No. I think that certain books need to be read when people are at the right maturity level to read them to really get the most out of them. That depends on a whole lot of things - reading level, difficulty/complexity of the themes and issues (the one I'd focus on with this work), a certain amount of life experience to bring to the reading. . . On the other hand a man-turns-into-bug plot-line has enough inherent appeal to a 9 year old boy that they can be pulled into enjoying a great story with multidimensional levels of depth. I think is is a great gateway experience to more complex themes. Bill Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GoVanGogh Posted March 1, 2012 Share Posted March 1, 2012 On the other hand a man-turns-into-bug plot-line has enough inherent appeal to a 9 year old boy that they can be pulled into enjoying a great story with multidimensional levels of depth. I think is is a great gateway experience to more complex themes.I loved reading Kafka in college English. I ran across this book the other day and was wondering about the same thing - though I have a 10-year-old boy. I couldn't remember enough of the story, though, but was thinking: Man turns into bug? What boy wouldn't enjoy that?Will have to re-read soon and see about putting it on our reading list for the year. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
angela in ohio Posted March 1, 2012 Share Posted March 1, 2012 No. There are just SO many great books to read, and I think the only way to get to as many as we want to is to read each one at a point when they will be able to understand the most out of it, if that makes sense. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Spy Car Posted March 1, 2012 Share Posted March 1, 2012 No. There are just SO many great books to read, and I think the only way to get to as many as we want to is to read each one at a point when they will be able to understand the most out of it, if that makes sense. So what do you propose for 9 year old boys? Bill Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jean in Newcastle Posted March 2, 2012 Share Posted March 2, 2012 So what do you propose for 9 year old boys? Bill James and the Giant Peach. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Spy Car Posted March 2, 2012 Share Posted March 2, 2012 James and the Giant Peach. Read that at 5 or 6. Bill Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Geo Posted March 2, 2012 Share Posted March 2, 2012 (edited) http://www.boysread.org/books, or google and find your own lists. Pick and choose Edited March 2, 2012 by Geo Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Xilka Posted March 2, 2012 Author Share Posted March 2, 2012 No. There are just SO many great books to read, and I think the only way to get to as many as we want to is to read each one at a point when they will be able to understand the most out of it, if that makes sense. This is a good point. I see it like Bill - the whole cool man-turned-bug aspect. But Angela, your argument convinces me. I guess we could read Kafka now if we wanted to, but we probably wouldn't read Roald Dahl in high school. Sold. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jean in Newcastle Posted March 2, 2012 Share Posted March 2, 2012 Kipling - The Jungle Book, Kim Robert Louis Stevenson - Treasure Island, Jack London - Call of the Wild The Incredible Journey Gary Paulsen's books Jules Verne - Tolkien Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Xilka Posted March 2, 2012 Author Share Posted March 2, 2012 James and the Giant Peach. Funny! That's exactly what ds is reading right now. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nmoira Posted March 2, 2012 Share Posted March 2, 2012 (edited) On the other hand a man-turns-into-bug plot-line has enough inherent appeal to a 9 year old boy that they can be pulled into enjoying a great story with multidimensional levels of depth. I think is is a great gateway experience to more complex themes. Bill My 10 yo (girl) would get nightmares and probably experience great anxiety, for many of the "right" reasons. She's simply not emotionally equipped to deal with it. ETA: She is not an overly sensitive child when it comes to books, except when it comes to *big* questions wrapped in dark themes. Edited March 2, 2012 by nmoira Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Miss Marple Posted March 2, 2012 Share Posted March 2, 2012 On the other hand a man-turns-into-bug plot-line has enough inherent appeal to a 9 year old boy that they can be pulled into enjoying a great story with multidimensional levels of depth. I think is is a great gateway experience to more complex themes. Bill Very true! But at the end of it all my boys would think someone was very weird to make a book out of such a story. They would prefer the movie version :D Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Spy Car Posted March 2, 2012 Share Posted March 2, 2012 My 10 yo (girl) would get nightmares and probably experience great anxiety, for many of the "right" reasons. She's simply not emotionally equipped to deal with it. ETA: She is not an overly sensitive child when it comes to books, except when it comes to *big* questions wrapped in dark themes. Guess what we started reading together a couple of day ago, and has been his "journaling" book the pst two nights??? Think stardust and gold :D Bill Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GoVanGogh Posted March 2, 2012 Share Posted March 2, 2012 I see it like Bill - the whole cool man-turned-bug aspect.But Angela, your argument convinces me. I guess we could read Kafka now if we wanted to, but we probably wouldn't read Roald Dahl in high school. I see both sides. If you look at several popular homeschool reading list, they have children reading Shakespeare and Dickens at a young age. I don't see how Kafka is that different. As far as nightmares go - James and the Giant Peach has both parents dying, leaving the orphaned boy to go live with awful aunts. :001_huh: But there are so many wonderful books out there. You can't get them all read, no matter how hard you try. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nmoira Posted March 2, 2012 Share Posted March 2, 2012 Guess what we started reading together a couple of day ago, and has been his "journaling" book the pst two nights??? Think stardust and gold :D :D Very cool. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Miss Marple Posted March 2, 2012 Share Posted March 2, 2012 My 9s enjoyed the Brian Jacques books, Lord of the Rings, Narnia, etc. Plenty of books out there for 9 yobs; but the "man turning to bug" theme isn't readily available unless one moves to the super hero category of books - which did delight my boys as well. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Spy Car Posted March 2, 2012 Share Posted March 2, 2012 Very true! But at the end of it all my boys would think someone was very weird to make a book out of such a story. They would prefer the movie version :D What? You think Kafka was't weird? :D Bill Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nmoira Posted March 2, 2012 Share Posted March 2, 2012 I see both sides. If you look at several popular homeschool reading list, they have children reading Shakespeare and Dickens at a young age. I don't see how Kafka is that different. As far as nightmares go - James and the Giant Peach has both parents dying, leaving the orphaned boy to go live with awful aunts. :001_huh: His parents were killed by a rhino, and I've yet to meet child who has had an existential crisis over Roald Dahl. Sure there are sensitive kids who can't handle it, but that's on a literal level. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ester Maria Posted March 2, 2012 Share Posted March 2, 2012 I would not initiate it myself. If my children discovered it on their own, I would not be too opposed to them reading it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Miss Marple Posted March 2, 2012 Share Posted March 2, 2012 What? You think Kafka was't weird? :D Bill The weird ones sometimes write the best tales :D Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Xilka Posted March 2, 2012 Author Share Posted March 2, 2012 I see both sides. If you look at several popular homeschool reading list, they have children reading Shakespeare and Dickens at a young age. I don't see how Kafka is that different. As far as nightmares go - James and the Giant Peach has both parents dying, leaving the orphaned boy to go live with awful aunts. :001_huh: But there are so many wonderful books out there. You can't get them all read, no matter how hard you try. So true. Sigh. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dana Posted March 2, 2012 Share Posted March 2, 2012 I think the problem with Metamorphosis is the separation from your family.. The father throwing an apple that lodges in the son's carapace and then rots with death at the end. I'd wait. Of course, I read my 9yo A Modest Proposal the other day... But I'd wait on Kafka. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bluegoat Posted March 2, 2012 Share Posted March 2, 2012 I found that particular story disturbing when I read it in university. I would not be that inclined to read it to a nine year old, and I don't tend to be conservative about such things. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
oraetstudia Posted March 2, 2012 Share Posted March 2, 2012 I would not initiate it myself. If my children discovered it on their own, I would not be too opposed to them reading it. :iagree: I think the problem with Metamorphosis is the separation from your family.. The father throwing an apple that lodges in the son's carapace and then rots with death at the end. I'd wait. There is nothing so terrible in the waking up one day to find yourself turned into a giant cockroach, I suppose, but the angst, the horrible family, the misery and despair? That was a bit tough to read through when I was a German lit major in college. It's not quite as terrible as reading the story "In the Penal Colony" but it's pretty full of misery and woe of a kind I'm not ready to throw on youngish kids. On a side note, I suspect JK Rowlings had the Penal colony story in mind when she invented Dolores Umbridge and her nasty punishment pen. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Penelope Posted March 2, 2012 Share Posted March 2, 2012 (edited) I wouldn't introduce it. I read it, but have to confess I don't remember it well enough to see it through the eyes of a 9 yo to know. If there is nothing wildly inappropriate for the age, I'd be fine with it. :D Classics can be read and reread and enjoyed at different levels with advancing maturity. I think sometimes things that seem very intense to an adult pass over the heads of young readers who don't have the life experience to comprehend them, so they don't have the same effect. Edited March 2, 2012 by Penelope Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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