My Life in Four Books: Patricia Young

1) What book was most important to you in high school? Why? 

A Separate Peace by J. Knowles. I loved this book because it illustrated the depth of darkness in the human heart. The fact that the narrator killed his best friend because of jealousy really got my attention.

 2) What book was most important to you when you were an undergraduate English major? Why? 

Dreiser’s Sister Carrie, which truly illustrated the mechanisms of naturalism. When Hurstwood steals the money, it’s all over for him! No wonder he ends up in the Bowery where he commits suicide.

3) What book is most important to you now? Why? 

Pride and Prejudice. The very title expresses its significance; people are both victims and perpetrators of those twin evils. I’ve certainly been on both sides.

4) What book have you reread the most often in your life?  Why? 

Pride and Prejudice—I’m in love with Elizabeth Bennet!