E.M. Forster once wrote, "The only books that influence us are those for which we are ready, and which have gone a little farther down our particular path than we have yet got ourselves." I think that Forster means that a book can't influence you unless you are interested in it. I also think that Forster is saying that the book should be related to your life in someway. If it is, then it will interest you and it will be easier for you to be impacted. For example, if you read a book that is centered on a topic that is foreign or boring to you, then you probably won't care very much about it. But if you are open to the topic, and the book connects to your life, then you are open to being influenced. When Forster says, "...and which have gone a little farther down our particular path than we have yet got ourselves" he addresses another good point. Books that impact us may show an example of how our future will be, or what may happen if we follow our current path (if the book relates to something in your life). The book could serve as an awakening or as comfort, showing that either everything will turn out okay, or it won’t and you need to change what you’re currently doing. The book could even help you feel that you are not alone (“someone” else is going through what you are). Everything is Illuminated, by Jonathan Safran Foer, influenced me, but not in this exact way.
The main plotline of this novel is a search for Augustine, a woman in an old photo. Jonathan, Alex and Grandfather (along with their deranged dog) set out to find her in Ukraine, and to search for a long lost town of Trachimbrod. I feel that the general focus of the book is searching for elements of the past, to help explain things. Going along with Forster’s definition of an influential book, Everything is Illuminated would not influence me, because it doesn’t continue the path of my life. While everyone at some point thinks about the past, I feel that I’m more focused on the future.
I may not be connected to the search for the past, but one portion does connect with my life. The character of Alex seems to continue the path that I am on. Alex doesn't know what to do with his life. He deeply desires to go to America, but realizes that that won’t ever happen. Similarly, I have realized that some of my dreams won’t ever happen. His story does “go a little farther” down my path. In the end of the book, Alex is content with his life (even though his dreams have been “crushed”). This impacted me, and showed me that even if your dreams don’t work out, life will be ok.
Although Everything is Illuminated doesn’t match with Forster’s definition of an influential book for me, it still influenced me. The men did not find the actual Augustine, but they were still content that they had learned about Trachimbrod and about the past. Their search for the past may not be similar to my life, but it showed me that things often end in unexpected ways. That difference isn’t any worse than what was hoped for. I guess what I’m trying to say is that although things don’t always end the way you thought they would, they still can end well. So... I think that Forster is wrong. Just because you aren’t “ready” for a book, or don’t follow a path similar to the characters’, doesn’t mean that the book can’t influence you. Even though I am not connected to each of the characters, through Everything is Illuminated’s messages about hope and reality, I was influenced.