Saturday, February 20, 2010

Faulkner-Really?

As I Lay Dying, there really isn’t much to say about this book. Really, there isn’t. My eyes seriously ache while trying to read this book because it makes me so tired and I can’t take it anymore. So far the point is not quite clear as to why this novel might have any impact on the literary world. I’m really trying to say this nicely. I feel bad for this family that they have to live these lives because I were them I would be jealous of Addie who gets to die and get away from this horribly unexciting, monotonous, dreary life. And they can’t even talk right (they spelled opossum without an “o”, I though I was gonna die it annoyed me so much) and the dad doesn’t have teeth. And who in the world is Cora? And the doctor is old and fat. The daughter has sex in the cotton fields, and then is creepily able to talk to her brother without talking at all. And the brother somehow knows exactly what is going on when he isn’t even there- he’s in town. They named a boy Jewel. They build the mom’s coffin right in front of her. Like what is this? I really must be missing some key point. Something really needs to start moving or…or …I don’t even know but something is gonna happen. I mean it’s not like I can just stop reading the book because I don’t wanna fail quizzes but something will happen.

And then we have The Great Gatsby. This book actually really isn’t that bad-it’s really simple and easy to understand. I have actually read it before. I read it for fun one summer- I wanted to feel scholarly and what not. But I don’t remember the plot really that well so it’s not really helping me out that much. At least it has a plot unlike some books we’ve read (or are reading). Nick reminds me of Holden Caulfield from Catcher in the Rye. I don’t really know why maybe it’s because they both kinda wander, it’s New York City, they’re both alone, they’re both the narrators of the books. I feel like The Great Gatsby is like the sequel to Catcher in the Rye or even the other way around. I don’t know I just find them similar and sometimes forget who Nick is because I expect to see Holden.

Another thing while I’m at it is this whole two books at once thing. I don’t mind it in the sense that if we were only reading As I Lay Dying I think I might wanna die, and so The Great Gatsby adds some life to our reading schedule. But it’s just hard to switch my mind back and forth and keep focused on what happens in what and keep the characters right and what not. I just have to say so far Faulkner is not high on my list of likeable authors-I’m just sayin.

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