First, let me just start by saying that 'longfusion' is brilliant. Perfect word for that emotion.
Also, I definitely agree that the trip to Norfolk is really great--that whole section was really the highlight of the book for me. Especially the scenes that come after Tommy and Kathy have split from the rest of the group to look for Kathy's lost tape. That was just about the only part of the book in which I really felt the connection between Tommy and Kathy that was the basis for all that stuff about their being in love that became such a big deal later.
When you talk about the effects of what makes Kathy special, do you mean the thing that makes her different from you and me, or whatever it is that makes her special even within her own milieu (i.e. her being such an extra-good carer, etc)? I'm not sure whether that makes a difference or not (perhaps because I don't know exactly what it is that makes her stand out even amongst other of her own kind--just skill, or something else?). I guess my issue is that while Kathy's unreliability as a narrator is perhaps intellectually interesting, the actual story is just not compelling enough to make me care about all the hows and whys of her and her unreliability. I think the foregone conclusion may be at fault here. Maybe I'm just hardhearted, but I never for a moment thought that they were actually going to get a deferral, so I lost some of my involvement with the book that way.
I wonder whether you'd like The Remains of the Day. I loved it, of course, which could be the kiss of death for you... Many people find it boring because nothing seems to happen, but I think it's subtle and beautiful and heartbreaking. Very very British, though. Very.
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Date: 2008-06-20 02:45 am (UTC)Also, I definitely agree that the trip to Norfolk is really great--that whole section was really the highlight of the book for me. Especially the scenes that come after Tommy and Kathy have split from the rest of the group to look for Kathy's lost tape. That was just about the only part of the book in which I really felt the connection between Tommy and Kathy that was the basis for all that stuff about their being in love that became such a big deal later.
When you talk about the effects of what makes Kathy special, do you mean the thing that makes her different from you and me, or whatever it is that makes her special even within her own milieu (i.e. her being such an extra-good carer, etc)? I'm not sure whether that makes a difference or not (perhaps because I don't know exactly what it is that makes her stand out even amongst other of her own kind--just skill, or something else?). I guess my issue is that while Kathy's unreliability as a narrator is perhaps intellectually interesting, the actual story is just not compelling enough to make me care about all the hows and whys of her and her unreliability. I think the foregone conclusion may be at fault here. Maybe I'm just hardhearted, but I never for a moment thought that they were actually going to get a deferral, so I lost some of my involvement with the book that way.
I wonder whether you'd like The Remains of the Day. I loved it, of course, which could be the kiss of death for you... Many people find it boring because nothing seems to happen, but I think it's subtle and beautiful and heartbreaking. Very very British, though. Very.