From the very beginning “The Passion According to G.H” felt like a downward spiral of emotion. It took me quite a while to understand and situate myself in the narrative, often having to reread pages to even comprehend what was happening. The writing style felt like manic overthinking. For example, on pg.12 she backtracks her own usage of the phrase “billows of muteness”for almost a whole paragraph, making it feel like continuous word vomit. In addition, the amount of grand existential questions posed on the reader felt overwhelming, to a point where I just had to put the book down to take a breath. Like “Before I entered the room, what was I?” (pg.27). It almost feels like this book is a voice recording or a direct transcription of thought rather than carefully crafted sentences. However, I did like how in her writing the author referred to the reader directly (“for now I cling to you” pg.11) which gave the experience a personal feel. The writing style really contributed to the memorability of the book for me because I’ve never read anything quite as chaotic.
What immediately stood out to me was that the narrator is scared of everything. Scared of freedom (pg.5), scared of passion (pg.7), scared of truth (pg.11), and even scared of simply being (pg.5). This opened up the book in an unexpected way that sets the narrator up for her mental breakdown after the cockroach incident. I also found lots of contradictions that the author refers to which reminded me of our discussions of “Nada” by Laforet. She talks about how finding is getting lost and how gaining something is losing another and vise versa (pg.12). Another example, “all sudden understanding closely resembles an acute incomprehension” (pg.11). Meaning that understanding opens up a door of misunderstanding. I found this theme of comparing opposites very interesting.
A quote that really stuck with me was: “Creating isn’t imagination, it’s taking the great risk of grasping reality” (pg.12).
I think it’s interesting coming from the narrator who is a very wealthy artist. Because it’s not actually her art or creation that sends her into a mental breakdown of realizing her privilege, it’s the cockroach. Her version of “grasping reality” is becoming aware of her privilege in Rio De Janeiro where there are “six hundred thousand beggars” (pg 109). It also contributes to what I was saying before about comparing opposites (imagination vs reality). It made me wonder can the author actually grasp this reality of poverty from their penthouse suite?
Lastly, another small thing I noticed is that the last sentence of each section (or “chapter” if you could even call it that) is also the first sentence of the next. Why do you thing the author made that choice? How does it contribute to the fluidity of thought of the text? I can’t wait to read others’ thoughts on the book and how they interpreted it!
Hi Anna! I too thought that the writing style was intense and, as you said, chaotic. It was almost tiring to read this but there was also a sense of beauty and depth in it as well. This book truly did feel like many pages of thought/word vomit, and I felt that it was a different experience from the books that we have read thus far. To answer your question, I believe that the repetition of the last sentence in the chapter as the first sentence in the next one was done in an effort to emphasize whatever feeling that the narrator was feeling the most strongly at that moment. It was an interesting tactic that we haven’t seen yet.
Hi Anna!!
Great job reflecting on this book, I feel like you captured everything I was feeling so perfectly! I almost felt like the confusion in sentences and structure of the novel placed a larger emphasis on the tensions within the novel and within oneself. To answer your question, I feel as though it is for a greater effect!
Thanks,
Sadie
Hi Anna! To answer your question, I think that the author made that choice to provide the book with some sort of structure. Since the book itself is already so abstract, maybe she wanted at least some sort of continuity and organization.
Hey Anna!
Really enjoyed your post. Interesting question about how the last sentence is repeated in the next paragraph. I too wondered about this and felt like it was the only thing that provided some sort of structure to the mess that you accurately described as word vomit!
I think that the author deliberately creates chaos in writing and seeks to disorient us. In your experience as a reader, does it give a certain order in the reading that the last sentence of each chapter is the first of the next? Also, the narrator uses a lot of repetitions, does that help or confuse you when you read?