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Sir Rockabye
* Dog in the Sand *
USA
1158 Posts |
 Posted - 06/01/2005 : 18:11:06
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Completely forgot about this thread. I had a question all prepared, but I sort of forgot it. I think it went a little like this: (Keep in mind I finished the book some time ago, so my facts might be a bit skewed)
When that lady arrives (you know, the one with the glasses) to Observatory Mansions, and is responsible for everyone remembering, Francis is angry. He makes a huge effort to return things to the state they existed in before her arrival. However, once that girl (the one whose name has escaped me) starts to illicit a change from his parents (his mother gets out of bed, his father starts doing stuff as well), Francis makes an effort to aid this change? What’s the deal? Why this sudden role reversal on his part?
You run all kinds of red lights except the ones on the street.
When you run out of exits you can always count sheep. |
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shineoftheever
> Teenager of the Year <
Canada
4307 Posts |
Posted - 06/02/2005 : 01:20:56
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all in all quite enjoyable, i'm glad francis survived and stopped wearing gloves(positive message that you can get over your hangups/fears). carey is a great character writer, very unique individuals and very descriptive oratory. liked most characters despite their negative characteristics, didn't quite get the dog-lady though.
favorite quotes:
Young, beautiful horses of girls clopped their high-heel hooves. pg 35
The waxworks were an immensely eloquent dissertation on the wonderful ordinariness of mankind. pg 140
The present is the killer of memories. pg 173
But Mother's indifference to Father's death soon helped me to realize that no one was suffering as much as I was, and that when I thought we I really meant I. pg 250
Glove people are magical people, wearing gloves, monitoring everything you touched, was like floating above the world, watching everybocy in it, watching all the suffering, always observing it, but never touching it. pg 311
some random thoughts.
was the porter the personification of observatory mansions? tearsham park/observatory mansions was not a happy place, it was empty (the porters chest), did the button francis stole from the porters uni represent anything?
as anna lost her sight the others were given theirs back.
would have liked to learn a little more history of the orme's. carey is a bit ambiguous as to what degrees of neglect and urbanization caused the original tearsham park/observatory mansions change. i mean, he definitely implies neglect on francis' fathers part but what about his father?
why did francis get fired from the waxworks? i can't remember if they said it was because they stopped using human models or not. |
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starmekitten
-= Forum Pistolera =-
United Kingdom
6370 Posts |
Posted - 06/02/2005 : 12:58:47
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gosh shine! I'm going to read it again I think.
I still feel let down about francis' change, it was too cheap and too sudden, like sir rock says, from one extreme to another is a sudden jolt for me, and I kind of liked weird francis.
Those observations are interesting, I think the human models stopped because they got in automated ones which were cheaper. The Anna observation is clever, I'd not thought like that, I guess as a materials restorer her sight was her life so it does seem as her life ended theirs began. I kind of liked the Orme ambiguity, I imagined an old family struggling to keep up with the modern world and having things slide that way.
Interesting...
I hope that I will live to see you undress |
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shineoftheever
> Teenager of the Year <
Canada
4307 Posts |
Posted - 06/03/2005 : 00:12:12
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i think carey intended the readers to fall in love with the characters at the beginning as though they were these "waxwork" type caricatures of themselves (read, exciting and lovable like celebrity) and then as the story unfolded they became human (read, ordinary) and so we are expected to rejoice in their 'wonderful ordinariness'.
damn. i love that quote, i think i'll make it my signature for a while. |
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shineoftheever
> Teenager of the Year <
Canada
4307 Posts |
Posted - 06/03/2005 : 00:18:41
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so what's the next book peepholes?
The waxworks were an immensely eloquent dissertation on the wonderful ordinariness of mankind. |
Edited by - shineoftheever on 06/03/2005 00:20:00 |
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starmekitten
-= Forum Pistolera =-
United Kingdom
6370 Posts |
Posted - 06/03/2005 : 03:48:34
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You raise a good point sir, who's up for the next book, and do we want to take it in turns to chose one as well?
I hope that I will live to see you undress |
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Carolynanna
>> Denizen of the Citizens Band <<
Canada
6556 Posts |
Posted - 06/03/2005 : 07:54:04
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quote:
Originally posted by shineoftheever
i think carey intended the readers to fall in love with the characters at the beginning as though they were these "waxwork" type caricatures of themselves (read, exciting and lovable like celebrity) and then as the story unfolded they became human (read, ordinary) and so we are expected to rejoice in their 'wonderful ordinariness'.
damn. i love that quote, i think i'll make it my signature for a while.
Like the quote I previously posted;
"We looked at eachother, at those fellow residents who had told us their memories, and we thought - Is that all? Is that all that you are? Is that you? Ah, well if that's you, then you're not so remarkable anymore. I know your story now, there's nothing else for me to know and quite suddenly I don't know what to say to you. In truth, I find you a little dull, you shouldn't have told me everything, you should have kept something back to keep my interest alive. But now that I know everything about you I suddenly find myself unable to talk to you any more. I prefer to keep silent."
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Don't believe the hype. |
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kathryn
~ Selkie Bride ~
Belgium
15320 Posts |
Posted - 06/03/2005 : 10:04:02
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We should rotate choosing the next book. I nominate shine picks next.
 I still believe in the excellent joy of the Catholics |
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kathryn
~ Selkie Bride ~
Belgium
15320 Posts |
Posted - 01/02/2006 : 08:07:52
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Bump. Shiner? Anybody?
I got some heaven in my head
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forum book club #2
