Are we reading the same thing?

That's the questions I sometimes have after reading other bloggers' reviews on books that I've read myself. The various ways that fellow readers interpret books never fail to surprise or intrigue me.

I recently read Lou's review of All I Ever Wanted by Kristan Higgins at The Book Pushers and was stunned by her perception of a scene that was so disparate from my own interpretation of it. (LARGE SPOILER AHEAD!) The scene in question was one in which the main character, Callie, is caught kissing her former lover and longtime object of desire by her new boyfriend, Ian. I agree with Lou's assessment that it's kind of a forced occurrence used to cause some conflict between the hero and heroine. Where her ideas differ, however, is when it comes down to the who-did-what details. As I read the book, I perceived Callie as innocent and only a victim of her selfish ex's machinations and bad timing. Lou, though, saw it as Callie "kissing [her] ex to make sure [she didn't] have any feeling left for him". Now, I'm not disagreeing or disparaging Lou's viewpoint. I just find it fascinating the way that she experienced that scene.

This started me thinking about all of the other times this has happened. I don't know about you, but it happens to me often. Sometimes, the various interpretations just serve as fodder for my musings by giving me another way to look at a book that I've already read and formed opinions on. Other times, especially when it's a book that I have extremely negative or positive feelings about, I find myself wanting to rail at the commenter. How can they think that about ____ book? Clearly they must have read it wrong. They just don't "get" it.

But is there a such thing as "getting" a novel? Is anyone's reading experience ever wrong. I don't truly think so. Despite however I feel about a story, every reader is entitled (and should be encouraged) to experience it in their own way. That's the beauty of book blogging - it allows bloggers and commentators to put their two-cents in as well as view the story through the lens of someone else's experience.

---