Last book of the course 😀 (I wrote this before watching the video lecture)
First of all, I want to say that I enjoyed this book. It was a fun read but it took me about 30 pages to get used to the “jumping between stories” thing. My first impression was, “wow, this woman is making love with everyone, every day”. I read a bit more and realize that, she might be making love but there was no love. She gets lonely, so she gave her keys to many people. Yet she can’t handle it when they are actually visiting her. I thought, just maybe, she doesn’t know how to love. She often tells lies and loves to steal. I wouldn’t go as far to say she believes she doesn’t deserve love because she is a liar, but I think there is something about her own actions that bother her. It’s not guilt, though. It’s like she wants to belong to someone but couldn’t, then she found her husband but her husband doesn’t belong to her completely.
The beginning of the book mentioned young and slim legs a couple times, then there’s the bald guy who likes feet that appeared around page 70, page 98 when children clinged onto the woman’s legs, nothing much after that, page 143 cockroaches’ tiny feet going up and down the stairs, her legs becoming rigid from the scare. I anticipated more “legs” because it was (at least to me) emphasized at the beginning. I tried connecting the dots but nothing came up.
A hundred pages in I already mixed all the stories up. I don’t know what’s real and what’s from the book she was writing anymore. Did the author meant to do that or am I just stupid? We know the woman is a liar. Like Moby, who was supposed to be a made up character was inspired by someone by the name of Bobby. I think half of the notes printed in smaller fonts are made up.
There are two ghosts in this book: Owen the dead guy and Without. Just as I was at the peak of my confusion, blending imagination with reality, Owen became someone that can talk and he had acquaintance. An assistant perhaps. I have more time until class tomorrow, I might re-read the second half of the book… I really did enjoy this book, but it’s not good for leisure reading because once you lost focus you can’t get right back into it.
Last note, I guess my friend wasn’t lying when he said 75% of the artists who draw lewd stuff are women. They also have lewd stuff on their minds.
Question: How did you navigate between the stories within this story? I genuinely need help
Hey Ryan!
I totally agree that the formatting of the novel is quite peculiar and somewhat hard to comprehend. Especially when it came to the end of the novel when the voices of the narrator and Owen started to converge into one where the stories of both found common ground on the same page. It was kind of frustrating to understand what is what and what story belongs to who. To answer your question… I didn’t ????. I just kind of rolled with the punches. I’d read the vignette and decipher what in that fragment belonged to who and associated a voice to that section. Like if any section mentioned a little boy or a borderline bad husband, then boom, it’s the narrator. If I couldn’t tell, which wasn’t often when I re-read the passage, then I just go with the flow. Not everything needs to be understood anyways, what does matter is how you connect with it.
Ryan, I am glad to hear you enjoyed the book. It definitely take s awhile to get used to the jumping between the narratives! Interesting thoughts on loove. You were the first one to really sit with it! I think there is defintely a loot of comment on the body. On the one hand is the comments you mention about the woman while on the other hand we see Owen obsessed with his weight adn slowly disappearing. I think it’s a little bit part of the point to not know what or who is real and what or who is fiction! Do you think Owen could be Without?

Thanks for your comment!
– Tesi
Hey Ryan! Nice to see that you enjoyed the book. I also mixed up the perspectives and narration around a hundred pages into it, I think that was intentional though on the author’s part so that their stories intertwined more. I tried to look for clues within the sections to help figure out who was speaking, but it definitely wasn’t easy.
Hi Ryan! I really liked your comment about her making love but there was no love there, it’s really interesting to think about. To answer your question, I really struggled navigating between the different stories within the novel. I think that I was so focused on trying to remember who’s life we were following at the time that I didn’t really think too much about the deeper meaning of what was happening in the book and how their lives may connect.
Hi, Ryan. I agree with your point of view. The whole book gave me the feeling of being somewhere between reality and memories, so it was difficult for me to sort out the timeline when reading this book. However, the discussion in class today helped me understand.
What an exciting journey this book must have been for you, cause it was the same for me! The way you describe how the stories weave together and the main character’s search for love and a place to join amidst her chaos paints a very clear picture. I find it really interesting how some books can both fascinate and puzzle us, isn’t it?
Hi Ryan, I also found this book hard to read (partly why I have mixed feelings about it), but I am glad that you were able to enjoy it despite the confusion. I felt like I had a decent understanding of who was speaking and the plotline until the ending with the earthquake where the two words collided then I was completely lost. After attending the lecture though, it all made sense. Maybe I would like the novel more if I read it again now that I have a better understanding of it.
Hi Ryan, honestly for me it was also very difficult to navigate but I kind of took a step back and had to reread a bunch of sections but nonetheless once I started to pick up on it it would make a lot of sense and the weird overlaps between timelines added to the storytelling I just wish I could of recognized that more if I understood better
Hi Ryan,
great blog post! I loved hearing your thoughts and I am glad you enjoyed this reading:)
To answer your discussion question, I think I normally find it very difficult to follow a stories within other stories, especially when it comes to books. I think if this is a concept in a movie or tv show it is a bit easier to process as I can fully visualize the characters and different story lines, however, I think that becomes a bit tricker – at least for me – when I am reading.
I hope you have a great summer and good luck on finals!!