Amnesia In Litteris by Patrick Suskind. Short summary

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Essay-thought about the reader’s short memory. Over time, the details of the plot, the names of characters are erased from memory. At best, the key events and shades of sensations from reading remain.

1 minute

The author describes an amusing incident. One day he was reading some book, admiring the freshness and originality of ideas. And suddenly he saw his own notes in the margins. It means that he had once read the contents and noted interesting thoughts. But everything had been completely forgotten.

Then follows an argument about the expediency of reading, about why in principle to read books, if nothing stays in memory for a long time. On the shelves are dozens of read volumes — the works of talented authors, interesting, intelligent content. But little is remembered, except for key plot points. Still, perhaps, there remain shades of feelings that arose during the reading. Lost details of the narrative, the names of characters.

And yet it is necessary to read. Under the influence of books, readers suffering from literary amnesia inevitably change, even if they do not notice it.