Beauty in Literature

You know, despite the subjective nature in beauty, we all find beauty in something. Beauty, to me, is when something just continues to recur in my mind, and I can't help stop forgetting about it (like in a positive way... like I still remember the one time I got a D- on my Unit 3 Algebra Test... I don't classify that experience as beautiful, I think of it as a traumatic experience.)

Anyways, there are many things I like to call beautiful. There are some music that I find beautiful and that I listen to every day. There is also beauty in art that I can't get off my head. And then, there is beauty in faces, one in particular that I can't help but share in this blog. 

ok he started this not me

But beauty in literature??? Oh boy, I don't know bout that one.

Just kidding of course... :))

To me, beauty in literature stems from the overall craft of a novel, or a particular passage that is still clear in my mind, almost to a point where I can recite it. A couple of the greatest works in literature that resonates with me include The Great Gatsby, The Awakening, Brave New World, Lord of the Flies... and the list continues so on. And in these novels, there were particular passages that stood out and connect very well within me. For example, I still remember the ending of The Awakening by Kate Chopin with all the symbolism and imagery—it was quite beautiful and a tragic end to the novel, but also open to many interpretations, which left me thinking about the novel afterwards for quite a while.

my book club novel :)

However, I could not find any particular quotes or passages in my book club novel, Exit West, beautiful. By no means was the novel bad; in fact, I found it quite interesting and intriguing, but I didn't quite connect with anything that really struck my heart. First, the novel did a fantastic job in portraying young love and frights within immigrants, but at the same time, it did not connect with any of my personal experiences as I never had to go through any of the events that the characters did. Second, I think the unrealistic nature of the whole novel, with doors that transport people to different parts of the world (an interesting concept of course), didn't really make sense to it. I think overall the whole work was quite well written, but again, no particular passage really reappear in my mind as I finish the novel and write this blog, and I think going back through the novel to find something remotely beautiful defeats the whole purpose of what I call "beauty"— something that resonates in you and you can't stop thinking bout it.