The idea of a fresh start, of a new beginning, has a beguiling appeal that has made it an enduring trope in literature. As well as a temporary escape into reading, books suggest the possibility that life outside the story might also be lived differently. All these narratives embody a utopian ideal: somewhere out there, there’s something better worth beginning again for. But utopia literally means no place. There is a warning in this; set out in search of a new beginning and you may get nowhere.
The idea of a second go at living can also create a deferred experience of life. I know this all too well. When I was growing up as a Jehovah’s Witness, looking forward to a new beginning was actively encouraged. I believed God would destroy the wicked, saving his true followers who would begin again in a paradise Earth. When I could no longer entertain this as a comfortable belief, I knew a fresh start was necessary, as I describe in my book The Last Days. I left religion behind, but I still believe in the power of books. I believe literature offers the best answers and starkest warnings; here are some of them.
1. Ladder of Years by Anne Tyler
One day, middle-aged wife and mother Delia Grinstead walks away from her family on a beach holiday, carrying almost nothing, and hitches a lift to a new town with only $500 in her pocket. Through her lack of belongings and history, Delia is able to strip back the layers of her life, discovering what matters to her. She discovers it’s never possible to fully jettison your obligations. Fresh starts, we learn, are a lot more complicated than they look.
