This book was a slow start, but as Alex informed us, it does pick up. However, of course I do have a few of my own problems with this piece. First of all, I really do not like how all of these authors assume we know what they are talking about. In fact it really bothers me. Can’t they just make something simple for once. Second, how morbid, a child dying the way he did. On his birthday, playing with friends, at his house, in front of his family. Who honestly sits down and says I am going to write a novel and the kid is going to die, how about I throw a little incest in there, a little sucide, an affair or two, oh, and lets not forget to plow people over with my car and I certainly can’t forget to have a person rotting away and screaming at their wife. What else is my problem with this?? Well its a not a problem its just a weird thing that I feel like discussing. Perhaps a but hypocritical on my part. All this time we have been talking about women have been portrayed in all these novels. As inferior and just things that are tossed around and used. Well, here we finally have a book where the woman is the superior one. But as I stated in class today about how if my kid were to die, I reserve the right to fall to pieces and have my husband pick me up. I don’t know where I stand here. I mean, I guess I just expect a man to be all masculine and have a bit a machismo, but not to the extent as in the past novels. I guess these novelists need to find a happy medium. Honestly, the pansy prissy image just isn’t working for me here. We need a character that chases his wife when she leaves and does everything to stop her. Cries next to his wife when the child dies, but wipes her tears before his own. I don’t know. I suppose I am just tired of reading and just want what I want.
April 20, 2007 at 6:54 pm
I agree with you in many of your points. At first this book is a slow read but then i picks up and the author puts more action in it. Also I did not agree with the way the author takes Mitt out of the story or killing him off because children suffocating him is really gruesome and graphic. And the fact that Henry does not show his feelings to Lelia is wrong.
April 22, 2007 at 9:36 pm
Amanda Lea you are a bag of laughs.
I agree. I want to know is this book is a non fiction book. And your right. Who kills off their own son in a story and fills their book with death. And I am just about sick of these in depth sex scenes. Give me a break already before I puke.
Dawn
April 23, 2007 at 1:58 am
Well, I think that possibly the reasons that he doesn’t show emotion is that he wasn’t raised that way. There was no form of machismo, just his father working everyday. However, as the novel goes on, we can see Henry comes out of his shell. It’s no perfect but it gets better.
April 23, 2007 at 5:59 am
I agree that the book definatelty has a slow start, but it does pick up a bit. Also that there has been some pretty interesting topics in all the books we have read so far. It is pretty bad that in this story a little boy had to die by being suffocated to death by other children, that is awful. But things like this seem to be the common theme for the books we have read in this class.
April 25, 2007 at 2:07 pm
I totally agree with you as well. About the child’s death, that was a total “Stranger than Fiction” moment. (If you haven’t seen the movie, don’t. basically, it’s about a woman who is trying to decide how to kill her character off. I can totally see Chang-Rae Lee going out an watching the car crashes though, looking off the edge of a building, etc., trying to figure out a way to kill off poor Mitt.) I think that you’re points about the relationship between men and women is a good one too. I agree with you-the guy should have a backbone and be the strong one. The girl should be strong too, but not stronger than her husband. My only question to you is, What is more realistsic? I agree with you 100%, but maybe that’s just too much of a fairy-tale to be a realistic story. I guess you can’t expect “Serendipity” in every ‘real’ story. But, hey, there’s still hope for us-chivalry’s not dead yet, right?
April 29, 2007 at 7:38 pm
Amanda Lee, one particular part of your post that really stood out to me was the line, “the pansy prissy image just isn’t working for me here. We need a character that chases his wife when she leaves and does everything to stop her. Cries next to his wife when the child dies, but wipes her tears before his own” You could not have said it better. I would want my husband to be the stronger one if my child had died. Men are supposed to be portrayed as strong and masculine; however, it was the other way around in this case. Lelia was like the man in the relationship and Henrey was the one who was falling apart. I found that a little weird, but it also opens readers eyes that men and women do not always have to follow the typical roles they are expected to follow.
April 30, 2007 at 3:40 am
I really do agree with you like do these authors sit there and think about depressing messed up stuff like this. It really is obvious that these authors need a friend or a pet or something. They are all way too depressed. You really did hit the nail on the head when you wrote it seems they sit and are like ok let me think whats some of the most depressing and messed up situations I can come up with. A young child dying ok, love triangles fine, hit and runs even better. No character ever seeming to be happy…….genius!!!!