The Gold Bug Variations

Until I started classes this semester, I had never heard of Richard Powers. He writes novels that appear on the New York Times best seller list, but their titles have never caught my eye enough to decide to read one of his works.

Over the last couple of weeks, I've been reading his novel The Gold Bug Variations. I really enjoyed this book, way more than I initially thought I would. As soon as I finished it, I wanted to go back and read it again-- it's been a long time since I've felt that way about a text. The novel is really clever-- he is playing with Poe's tale the Gold Bug and Bach's Goldberg Variations, specifically the version by Glenn Gould. In addition, he's telling multiple love stories alongside scientific discovery and the beginnings of computer programming. The way he integrates these various types of knowledge so fluidly creates a collage of knowledge that feels like smooth sailing. These seemingly different bits of information flow into one another like it couldn't possibly be any other way.

Powers also reminds his reader that he is well read-- he integrates facts and quotes like everyone should have as much background knowledge as him. It's a fun challenge to try to remember where these various phrases initiated. However, i also wonder how many i've missed.

it's interesting to me-- i want to use this space to think critically about the various things i'm reading and also to record thoughts about things that have struck me about a text-- yet i know i'm not doing that with powers-- i'm just praising his work.

what is the challenge here? how does this fit into other thought? i think collage is going to become an important way of processing knowledge. people want to have new and different things to say, but i'm not sure there is anything new to say-- it's just that we want to say it differently. when people find connections between seemingly different things, these collages put a new spin on information.

powers is looking at different styles of research-- he has biography and memory, and he also looks at library research and scientific discovery. all of these things are so different, and yet really, the only complete picture can be gained through these various methods. i think it's important to look at information from more than one angle and through more than one perspective-- i think that's the only way to really see something.

regardless, i recommend people read this novel-- it takes careful attention, but it's worth the time.

The Giver

Lois Lowry's The Giver is another "difficult" text. yet, it's complex for completely different reasons than cormier's text. both of these novels have boys seeking out knowledge, and this knowledge is difficult for them to obtain, it changes their perception on the outside world.

i think both of these novels are considered difficult because they engage the reader. the reader cannot just read the book and say, what a nice story. he/she must do something with the information given.

as i read The Giver, i was struck by the variety of adult behavior toward children. in the perfect society everyone is nice and polite, and almost condescending. stripping away differences removes cocky pride, but it also removes self-efficacy and motivational pride.

fantasy and realism are interesting things in novels. what is possible, what is my experience in comparison to the author's experience or the character's experience?

i want to begin to pay attention to how knowledge is portrayed and given in these works for young adults. in I Am the Cheese, knowledge is necessary-- it is both a life sustainer and a life taker. in The Giver, knowledge is a privledge and a curse. which viewpoint is reality? which is fantasy?

I Am the Cheese

Robert Cormier wrote I Am The Cheese back in 1977. I just finished reading it for the third time. The first time was several years ago, and I really believe that I didn't get it. I mean I understood the story, but I didn't see the brilliance behind Cormier's writing. The second time was only a couple of years ago, and it finally began to make sense. Now, reading it for the third time, I see so many things he's trying to do in the text.

The back of the laurel leaf edition says, "A boy's search for his father becomes a desperate journey to unlock a secret past. But it is a past that must not be remembered --if the boy is to survive." I wish that wasn't there. It gives the book a level of intrigue that takes away some of suspense Cormier builds in.

Wolfgang Iser writes about reader response theory, and how texts have certain gaps in them. I Am The Cheese is all gaps. That's the point of the text. The main character has blanks in his memory and he's trying to fill them in while simultaneously having an adventure on a bicycle. However, these two happenings are explained through different voices, so the reader doesn't know, do they happen simultaneously. Are they related one to another?

I'm trying to decide how I feel about difficult texts addressed to young adult audiences. This text is often censored for its content. People argue that it makes the government look bad. Fiction is fiction; I don't think this is making some big statement about fake government offices that we supposedly dissolved before the novel even began. I'm not sure young adults will understand the split in the text. Maybe they will understand it better because they are not married to the idea of a unified text.

I don't have a solution today. But I do have a question? What should we do with "difficult" texts? Why do we like them so much?

Tristram Shandy

i want to write mostly about children's literature on this blog, because that's my favorite type of literature. but, this week i had to read tristram shandy for a graduate class, so it's on my mind. the novel is supposed to be about the life and opinions of the title character, tristram, but by the end of the novel, the reader actually knows very little about him.

the false allusion the title gives isn't what strikes me most about the text. what i notice is that while i am reading, i feel like i am reading someone's blog. the narrator rambles on about things that are important to him, the night he was conceived, the night he was born. he talks about his father, his uncle, and his uncle's friend. all things that seemingly shouldn't interest a paying audience, and yet the book has remained in print for hundreds of years. as i keep reading this book about random events, i also wonder why i read other people's blogs. somehow i think all of the randomness makes us feel connected. we read and post hoping to find others that feel the same way we do, but we're too busy to go and meet them, we just want to connect with them during some moment of someone's free time.

tristram shandy's an interesting read, mostly because it just tells a normal, random story with interjected moments of humor.

New Blog

I like the idea of being able to journal and get some feedback about what I'm writing. Also, I know that if I write about what I'm reading about I'll have an easier time keeping track of how I feel about various fun books and theoretical texts. I'm hoping to use this blogspot to write about books related to Children's Lit.