What did you think of Foer's style? Did the pictures and other visual techniques affect your reading of the novel? How? Do you have a favorite technique or picture that he used? Why do you think the doorknob recurs?
After reading this book, I have become a huge fan of Foer. And I'm not so sure it's because of the unique writing style (meaning the pictures, various typesettings, spacing etc) but more for the tone of the book. I was drawn in from the very first paragraph. For me, I loved the book more for the characters than anything else, but I'll save that for later.
But I did enjoy the unique style of writing. I'm somewhat ADD so it was kind of fun to wait to see what would be appearing on the next page, and some of the pictures added a lot of depth and concreteness to the plot. It truly brought the story more to life.
I enjoyed the pictures more than the change in fonts and spacing. It bugged me when there were several pages that were blank. But come to think of it, it was really effective when he used one sentence on one page when Oskar's grandpa was "talking" or rather writing.
Overall, I think his style makes for a more effective message that has more impact than solely words on a page. I liked it.
One more thing: I really liked the part where Oskar found his Dad's name on the pads of paper at the art store. For some reason, it was all the more heart breaking yet heart warming at the same time.
I'm ADD when I read too... it's hard for me to sit still for a long period of time, but this book flew by. The photos were placed perfectly. The only time I hated it was when I was reading the pages where the font and spacing got smaller and smaller... I was on an airplane and I was getting sicker and sicker reading it.
But I think the style really is effective. Not that his writing style doesn't have good enough imagery because it does, but the images help you understand Oscar's life better, like on page 98 when he takes a photo of the back of Abby Black's head.
P.S. I loved this book... I just wanted to say that.
And also, I think the doorknob reappears to symbolize dead-ends. He has to figure out how to get around road blocks during the whole book. I think they could also symbolize all of the doors he opens and reopens (figuratively and literally) in his quest clues about the key--relationship doors especialy--between he and his dad, his mom, the grandparents...
I like your thought about the doorknob Taylor. It's funny though, I really like the chapter where the letters get closer and closer together until you can't read anymore. That really expressed the urgency and desperation that the grandfather felt to me. I think I have felt that way before--desperate to express myself and say something important, the whole time knowing that I didn't have adequate words or time to do it in (I felt this way a lot on my mission).
My favorite picture is the one after Mr. Black turns his hearing aid back on and the birds take off. I love that picture of the birds. Imagine not hearing anything for so long, and then hearing that? I think I like this moment too because you begin to see Oskar really doing things for other people during his search.
One more. I love when Oskar finds his card in Mr. Black's file. Somehow it is so much more powerful to see the card that says "Oskar Schell: Son," then to have Oskar say something about how the card described him. How cool to have that relationship define him.
I really liked his writing style. For me it was a book that I felt more than I thought about, although it does stay in your head. His descriptions of emotions are so tactile I could somehow identify with them much easier. I liked when Oscar made a connection with Abby Black and then he asked for a kiss, and she didn't think it was a good idea. But to me, it made sense because in such a short time Oscar had grown extremely close to her. That was a clear talent of his character, and of Foer - his ability to get close to the human experience with a vivid, human look at life. It wasn't over-thought and over-intellectual like so many books are trying to be in this genre.
It's funny b/c I hated the part when the words got smaller and crammed. I wanted to keep reading but the text wouldn't allow me to finish. Very frustrating! But Loren, you make a great point. It certainly brought the feeling of urgency without saying it.
I agree, Adam, I think it is definitely a book that you feel. For me at least, I think that was at least partially a function of the spacing, pictures, and other unusual techniques that Foer used. Foer lets us get inside Oskar's imagination and experience how frustratingly slow it is to communicate with the grandpa. We get to feel a little big what it's like to be Oskar looking at the pages at the art store with his dad's name on them.
I felt like the doorknobs represented a lot of how Oskar felt. There were diffent doorknobs, some of them required a key to open (from the reader's and Oskar's view), some could be locked from the inside, and some were just waiting to be opened. There was a lot of meaning you could put into any of them, but I liked that it gave you a natural excuse to sit back and reflect a bit about what was happening in the story, and what the meaning was behind things. Inserting the pictures and blank pages was almost like building a personal discussion right into the book.
8 comments:
After reading this book, I have become a huge fan of Foer. And I'm not so sure it's because of the unique writing style (meaning the pictures, various typesettings, spacing etc) but more for the tone of the book. I was drawn in from the very first paragraph. For me, I loved the book more for the characters than anything else, but I'll save that for later.
But I did enjoy the unique style of writing. I'm somewhat ADD so it was kind of fun to wait to see what would be appearing on the next page, and some of the pictures added a lot of depth and concreteness to the plot. It truly brought the story more to life.
I enjoyed the pictures more than the change in fonts and spacing. It bugged me when there were several pages that were blank. But come to think of it, it was really effective when he used one sentence on one page when Oskar's grandpa was "talking" or rather writing.
Overall, I think his style makes for a more effective message that has more impact than solely words on a page. I liked it.
One more thing: I really liked the part where Oskar found his Dad's name on the pads of paper at the art store. For some reason, it was all the more heart breaking yet heart warming at the same time.
I'm ADD when I read too... it's hard for me to sit still for a long period of time, but this book flew by. The photos were placed perfectly. The only time I hated it was when I was reading the pages where the font and spacing got smaller and smaller... I was on an airplane and I was getting sicker and sicker reading it.
But I think the style really is effective. Not that his writing style doesn't have good enough imagery because it does, but the images help you understand Oscar's life better, like on page 98 when he takes a photo of the back of Abby Black's head.
P.S. I loved this book... I just wanted to say that.
And also, I think the doorknob reappears to symbolize dead-ends. He has to figure out how to get around road blocks during the whole book. I think they could also symbolize all of the doors he opens and reopens (figuratively and literally) in his quest clues about the key--relationship doors especialy--between he and his dad, his mom, the grandparents...
I like your thought about the doorknob Taylor. It's funny though, I really like the chapter where the letters get closer and closer together until you can't read anymore. That really expressed the urgency and desperation that the grandfather felt to me. I think I have felt that way before--desperate to express myself and say something important, the whole time knowing that I didn't have adequate words or time to do it in (I felt this way a lot on my mission).
My favorite picture is the one after Mr. Black turns his hearing aid back on and the birds take off. I love that picture of the birds. Imagine not hearing anything for so long, and then hearing that? I think I like this moment too because you begin to see Oskar really doing things for other people during his search.
One more. I love when Oskar finds his card in Mr. Black's file. Somehow it is so much more powerful to see the card that says "Oskar Schell: Son," then to have Oskar say something about how the card described him. How cool to have that relationship define him.
I really liked his writing style. For me it was a book that I felt more than I thought about, although it does stay in your head. His descriptions of emotions are so tactile I could somehow identify with them much easier. I liked when Oscar made a connection with Abby Black and then he asked for a kiss, and she didn't think it was a good idea. But to me, it made sense because in such a short time Oscar had grown extremely close to her. That was a clear talent of his character, and of Foer - his ability to get close to the human experience with a vivid, human look at life. It wasn't over-thought and over-intellectual like so many books are trying to be in this genre.
It's funny b/c I hated the part when the words got smaller and crammed. I wanted to keep reading but the text wouldn't allow me to finish. Very frustrating! But Loren, you make a great point. It certainly brought the feeling of urgency without saying it.
I agree, Adam, I think it is definitely a book that you feel. For me at least, I think that was at least partially a function of the spacing, pictures, and other unusual techniques that Foer used. Foer lets us get inside Oskar's imagination and experience how frustratingly slow it is to communicate with the grandpa. We get to feel a little big what it's like to be Oskar looking at the pages at the art store with his dad's name on them.
I felt like the doorknobs represented a lot of how Oskar felt. There were diffent doorknobs, some of them required a key to open (from the reader's and Oskar's view), some could be locked from the inside, and some were just waiting to be opened. There was a lot of meaning you could put into any of them, but I liked that it gave you a natural excuse to sit back and reflect a bit about what was happening in the story, and what the meaning was behind things. Inserting the pictures and blank pages was almost like building a personal discussion right into the book.
Post a Comment