alrighty, so what is happening here? I am not all that sure as to what I think of the book so far. The setting is most definitely interesting, and I would love to enjoy the story. Sadly, the story... well... I just don't like it, to make it short. The gossipy, upbeat, fast paced and most importantly, moving, narration has me sitting there, feeling and looking something like this. This is mainly because I just can not come to terms with the gossipy, character focused narrative. I end up thinking about all the things that are occurring outside of the story, in these extremely interesting settings. So, unless the story takes a drastic turn for the better in the next few chapters, I am afraid that I will end up here, all too often, during reading time....
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ReplyDeleteNothing in this blog post tells me you have actually _read_ the first two chapters. You say that people are "gossipy", but don't explain this. Whom are you talking about? This is all very vague and general, and could apply to any number of stories. Sorry, Nils, but you have to read the story to have an opinion on it. Also, your first link doesn't work
ReplyDeleteI mean, I have read it, but I did not think that the purpose of this was to regurgitate the action with some tacked on comments. Apologies for an actual insight into my reading experience, on a -reading blog.- I'll go a ahead and be sure to give a detailed summary of what happens when I am talking about the fact that I am not able to follow the action taking place, since I find the setting of the cities, time period of colonization, and action-setting of these strikes/conflicts do much more interesting than the gossipy' style of writing when we follow the characters through some (to me) uninteresting debates and dillemas about the role of French in their culture, and the passive, yet somewhat passionate speeches to workers...
ReplyDeleteTa-dah...?
It's fine to give an actual insight into your reading experience - that is the point of this blog! It is also fine to state your opinion. I don't need a detailed summary, either. But you should support what you are saying - this is just good writing. I could say that all of the women in the story have three heads and speak gibberish, but that would be baseless without some reference to the story. You call the characters "gossipy", which to me is a meaningless assertion unless you actually explain specifically what you're talking about.
ReplyDeleteOk, first off, I did not think an English teacher would ever say that something is 'just good writing.' But I get your point, and I understand that the vague language I used may have created confusion as to what I was referring to, in regards to the story. Still, I stand with my statement that the story does not place enough emphasis on the events and setting as opposed to the experiences of the characters. While I am aware that this is a style of writing that is often employed, it does not appeal to me as much when it is concerning historical events that I find interesting. As such, I will do my best to write my analysis to -your- liking from now on.
DeleteWould you have preferred me to say "merely good writing"? It's the minimum I expect from an IB student to support your points with references to the text, to demonstrate that you are reading the book.
DeleteI don't expect you to love this novel, but I do expect you to give it a chance.
Fair enough, it just stuck me as odd, that the quality of writing, which (at least I hope) will transition into real world experience and application much better than book analysis, would take such a low standing in importance.
DeleteHowever, I am not one to judge a book by its cover (or first 2 chapters) and as such I will most definitely give it a chance.
I have to disagree with you, I don't think this story is fast paced at all. In the beginning you get the female point of view and then you go to the males. The women were "gossiping" but not to the extent that that is all that was being talked about in the first chapter.
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