I am about 2/3 of the way through the book. It is an amazing book. The prose transports me into the world of these characters. It’s like uncovering an American myth, and each sentence is constructed by a master of language.
I finished it a few weeks ago. Gotta say, I had a mildly different response. Which was…“Seven years and this is the best story he could concoct?”
Which is not terribly generous I realize, but I was really surprised by the “autobiographical” and generally uncreative overtones of the beginning. To me, the weight of the “second novel syndrome” hung heavy on this novel.
I felt like Enger struggled to find a story he could write to follow-up PLaR and instead, he found some characters he wanted to follow. And so that’s what we got. Story be damned.
Yeah, I can’t say that I totally disagree on the story part. I did recently hit a lull in that regard.
But the word choice and sentences (the things I tend to gravitate to first) still amaze me. Also, I have no idea how historically accurate his use of language is. But the voice and language are commanding enough that I’m buying it!
I’m a little over mid-way through. So we’ll see how it goes..
I am about 2/3 of the way through the book. It is an amazing book. The prose transports me into the world of these characters. It’s like uncovering an American myth, and each sentence is constructed by a master of language.
— Jim Sanders · May 12, 02:06 PM · #
I finished it a few weeks ago. Gotta say, I had a mildly different response. Which was…“Seven years and this is the best story he could concoct?”
Which is not terribly generous I realize, but I was really surprised by the “autobiographical” and generally uncreative overtones of the beginning. To me, the weight of the “second novel syndrome” hung heavy on this novel.
I felt like Enger struggled to find a story he could write to follow-up PLaR and instead, he found some characters he wanted to follow. And so that’s what we got. Story be damned.
He does put together some nice sentences though.
— Dave L · May 13, 09:50 AM · #
Yeah, I can’t say that I totally disagree on the story part. I did recently hit a lull in that regard.
But the word choice and sentences (the things I tend to gravitate to first) still amaze me. Also, I have no idea how historically accurate his use of language is. But the voice and language are commanding enough that I’m buying it!
I’m a little over mid-way through. So we’ll see how it goes..
Thanks Jim and Dave for chiming in.
— michael snyder · May 13, 11:55 AM · #