I love the literature circle book we are reading this time. Its funny, the story is relatively interesting, but most of all I love the authors voice. Just reading the book I feel like the author is right next to me telling me a story of his past, or in his prime and almost reminiscing or bragging about his life. As he writes, "I have many many girls, believe me, and they all have different names for me. One dubs me Baby, not because I am a baby, but because she attends to me. Another dubs me All Night. Do you want to know why?" Reading the story I feel connected to the author almost in a brotherly way, I feel like one of my close friends would talk to me about such topics in a similar manner. Throughout the story there are references to sex or girls, and of course my favorite his amazing analogies. They are so visual and he relates anything to anything else which brings a humor to everything he describes. So far I really like the book and am excited to read further.
I agree with you (I think I can use “you” instead of “Sam” since there are only two of us.) about the Foer’s colloquial, conversational tone. I think that he uses that voice because he is trying to portray the way Alex interacted with him on the trip. I’m not sure if this trip actually happened or if Jonathan Safran Foer is writing about a made up trip he took. Either way, I think he captures Alex’s personality well in his writing. I do not see Alex as so much of a friend, probably because I’m not a guy, but I can definitely understand that perception. Understanding whose perspective the story was from was difficult at first. The book started with, “My legal name is Alexander Perchov” (1), so it seemed clear that Alex, the translator, was the speaker. Then the second chapter begins in 1791 in third person. On page 23 a letter begins. This letter is where I was able to figure out the layout of the book. Foer went on this trip, or is writing about a made up trip, on which he had a translator named Alex. Following the trip, he is writing a story about it from the perspective of Alex. He sends Alex pieces of the story and then inserts Alex’s responses to those excerpts. I think that the tales of Rabbis and such from the past will tie into his family being saved by the woman he, Alex, and Alex’s grandfather are searching for.
One thing that stood out in this book is the frequent references to and discussion of sex, such as his description of Jonathan’s grandfather, which reads, “There were some fifty-two virgins, to whom he made love in each of the positions that he had studied from a dirty deck of cards” (195). I am interested in thinking about the effect that had on the book as a work of literature. Did it take away from the story or did it add? For me, as a reader, the informal tone combined with the sexual references made the book enjoyable to read. I could sit down and read, knowing that I would laugh at some point. I do think, however, that the tone made the book more about enjoying the story and characters than analyzing the characters’ struggles or the literary devices. That is not necessarily a bad thing, but I do think it is important. I saw this book as more of a fun, easy read than most of the other selection we’ve had. I think that made me more interested in the reading and excited about it, but less involved in the reading. I think that the sexual references fit in with Foer’s attempt to give the readers a genuine perception of himself and Alex. He uses language the way they do and does not hold back or edit for an audience.
I find it funny that the reoccurring theme we keep finding in this book is all the sex references and the style of writing the author uses. But at the same time, I completely agree that it seems to make the story what it is. The chapters about the old synagogue were all very boring until the connection was made that grandfather slept around a lot back then. Again, another reference to sex. Taking the story apart and thinking about it in a plot summary aspect, it is really not that interesting at all. In fact, if that was all the book had I would not be able to get through the first half of it. The sex jokes and the informal boyish voice make the story hilarious. I find myself always waiting for the next funny analogy he made or the next conversation between him and Alex. Really what made this story amazing was all the one liners that were thrown in that I wish I could think of in regular conversation. The author seems to take the simple conversations throughout the story, and make them into the highlight of the story really making it as funny as it was.
I was born and raised in Saint Louis, Missouri and first moved to Massachusetts to attend Amherst College, where I majored in both English and Russian literature. After graduation, I accepted a Fulbright Scholarship to the University of Tartu in Estonia, where I studied children's literature and semiotics ("the study of signs and symbols"). I returned to the United States to spend a few years exploring the wide world of business, but the classroom kept calling. It was high time to earn my Masters in Education from Tufts University and join the staff at Arlington High School.
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I love the literature circle book we are reading this time. Its funny, the story is relatively interesting, but most of all I love the authors voice. Just reading the book I feel like the author is right next to me telling me a story of his past, or in his prime and almost reminiscing or bragging about his life. As he writes, "I have many many girls, believe me, and they all have different names for me. One dubs me Baby, not because I am a baby, but because she attends to me. Another dubs me All Night. Do you want to know why?"
ReplyDeleteReading the story I feel connected to the author almost in a brotherly way, I feel like one of my close friends would talk to me about such topics in a similar manner. Throughout the story there are references to sex or girls, and of course my favorite his amazing analogies. They are so visual and he relates anything to anything else which brings a humor to everything he describes. So far I really like the book and am excited to read further.
-Sam
I agree with you (I think I can use “you” instead of “Sam” since there are only two of us.) about the Foer’s colloquial, conversational tone. I think that he uses that voice because he is trying to portray the way Alex interacted with him on the trip. I’m not sure if this trip actually happened or if Jonathan Safran Foer is writing about a made up trip he took. Either way, I think he captures Alex’s personality well in his writing. I do not see Alex as so much of a friend, probably because I’m not a guy, but I can definitely understand that perception. Understanding whose perspective the story was from was difficult at first. The book started with, “My legal name is Alexander Perchov” (1), so it seemed clear that Alex, the translator, was the speaker. Then the second chapter begins in 1791 in third person. On page 23 a letter begins. This letter is where I was able to figure out the layout of the book. Foer went on this trip, or is writing about a made up trip, on which he had a translator named Alex. Following the trip, he is writing a story about it from the perspective of Alex. He sends Alex pieces of the story and then inserts Alex’s responses to those excerpts. I think that the tales of Rabbis and such from the past will tie into his family being saved by the woman he, Alex, and Alex’s grandfather are searching for.
ReplyDeleteOne thing that stood out in this book is the frequent references to and discussion of sex, such as his description of Jonathan’s grandfather, which reads, “There were some fifty-two virgins, to whom he made love in each of the positions that he had studied from a dirty deck of cards” (195). I am interested in thinking about the effect that had on the book as a work of literature. Did it take away from the story or did it add? For me, as a reader, the informal tone combined with the sexual references made the book enjoyable to read. I could sit down and read, knowing that I would laugh at some point. I do think, however, that the tone made the book more about enjoying the story and characters than analyzing the characters’ struggles or the literary devices. That is not necessarily a bad thing, but I do think it is important. I saw this book as more of a fun, easy read than most of the other selection we’ve had. I think that made me more interested in the reading and excited about it, but less involved in the reading. I think that the sexual references fit in with Foer’s attempt to give the readers a genuine perception of himself and Alex. He uses language the way they do and does not hold back or edit for an audience.
ReplyDeleteI find it funny that the reoccurring theme we keep finding in this book is all the sex references and the style of writing the author uses. But at the same time, I completely agree that it seems to make the story what it is. The chapters about the old synagogue were all very boring until the connection was made that grandfather slept around a lot back then. Again, another reference to sex. Taking the story apart and thinking about it in a plot summary aspect, it is really not that interesting at all. In fact, if that was all the book had I would not be able to get through the first half of it. The sex jokes and the informal boyish voice make the story hilarious. I find myself always waiting for the next funny analogy he made or the next conversation between him and Alex. Really what made this story amazing was all the one liners that were thrown in that I wish I could think of in regular conversation. The author seems to take the simple conversations throughout the story, and make them into the highlight of the story really making it as funny as it was.
ReplyDelete