If you’re reading a work of fiction with a preface, that means you’re probably reading an established work of literature with a cultural reputation robust enough that someone - usually a credentialed academic - was tapped to write said preface. They’re there for the purpose of deeper study and targeted, implicitly, to people who are returning to that book, not encountering it for the first time, so don’t worry about it.
In other words, you’ll know if/when you’ll want to read the preface. This is unlikely to be the case the first time you read it. Skip ‘em.
goirish2200 t1_j4xp2fi wrote
Reply to What is the point of spoiling the plot of a book in its preface?? by DontNotNotReadThis
If you’re reading a work of fiction with a preface, that means you’re probably reading an established work of literature with a cultural reputation robust enough that someone - usually a credentialed academic - was tapped to write said preface. They’re there for the purpose of deeper study and targeted, implicitly, to people who are returning to that book, not encountering it for the first time, so don’t worry about it.
In other words, you’ll know if/when you’ll want to read the preface. This is unlikely to be the case the first time you read it. Skip ‘em.