This book is probably my personal favourite read of the course so far, as I feel like it’s the most narratively enjoyable one to date. The entire pace of the book, the going back and forth between Amanda trying to recall what happened and tell David, to Amanda experiencing all these weird events with Nina was so tastefully paced that the tension builds very nicely and the focus of the book is very taut. In some ways this sort of reminds me of Jordan Peele movies, where the feeling of dread is very palpable and you cling on to each moment in an effort to figure out this situation. This is probably one of the only books that I read as quickly as I did. There are a lot of notable elements to this novel, such as the book opening with Amanda trying to recall back, or ending with her husband trying to figure out more what happened. All these “set ups” to the novel contribute something more to the effect of the story and adds a lot of dimension and richness to the method of storytelling; I really have a lot of admiration for the way this story was crafted.
After watching the lecture video, I realized there was a lot of contextual background that needed to be known if you wanted to understand the story much more clearly. And I think this sort of answers the question in the lecture video; the lack of explanation around what is going on magnifies the feeling of mystery and anxiety because you DON’T know what is going on, and you sure as hell wanna figure it out because it’s making you anxious. I think that the mystery of the circumstance also builds to the more mystical elements of the book, such as the later concepts of soul-switching and animals randomly dying. Altogether, the story reads more like you’re experiencing a fever dream 😉
Another interesting thing I noticed is, I somehow understood without knowing it that the author was female. I think this might come from the depiction of Nina and Amanda’s relationship, or the familiarity of the socialization between females when looking at the interactions between Amanda and Carla, but I think even beyond that this book’s worldview was very much portrayed through a feminine lens for me somehow.
To finish off with a question to you all, Im curious how you guys felt about the soul switching part of the book. Do you believe in the idea of souls and why or why not? To extend, what do you think about the woman’s ability to switch souls?
It’s true, the novel has a vibe similar to that of the Jordan Peele movies! I suppose it has to do with the times we live in: there is a feeling of the ominous, and the lines between what is experienced in everyday reality and what is seen in feverish moments tends to blur. But something else about your blog post has caught my attention: the characters themselves seem to give little weight to the contextual background. Their attention is elsewhere, they care about other details, and they constantly repeat it. I think I had written it before, but the brevity of a novel does not mean that it is easy to read. And I agree with you, this book is crafted in a very clever way.
hi kelly! interesting question! I’m kinda undecided on where I stand regarding souls. I feel like my thoughts and actions don’t really match up in a way similar to how I am with superstitions – thinking back to the conversation we had earlier today. I kinda behave like I’m superstitious, or like I believe in the concept of a soul, but when asked directly about whether or not I believe in it I veer more toward saying no.