Shan’s Comments (group member since Sep 14, 2012)

Shan’s comments from the ELEVEN READER'S CLUB group.

Strong/Poignant Word Image
"It's as if the steady rhythm of our footsteps has put me in hypnotic state and shot me back in time twenty-four years. A helpless, pleasant vagueness has come over me too- the same state of mind, I realize, that I inhabited the entire year following Sylvie's death"

Vocabulary

Aggravated - annoy , cause to become worse.
Deriving - deduce a conclusion.
Downing - disappear slowly

Rhetorical/Literacy Devices
Metaphor:
"I flashed on a memory like accidentally breaking an egg in one hand"
"We'd been like kids brandishing lightsabers at one another in the schoolyard."

Gordon Rankin, the main character, started to clear out his problems and memories he had with his father. some of his memories vague and not specific.

Strong/Poignant Word Image
"And that's the only explanation I come up with when the question comes to mind, as it so frequently has throughout my life."

Vocabulary
Convulsive - volatile, dangerous
Penance - reparation for wrong.
Swath - dried grass

Rhetorical/Literacy Devices
Simile:
"I'd always been able to lock myself in a room for a couple of days, study like madman and jack up a dwindling grade at the eleventh hour."
Anaphora:
"I was contagion, after all. I was a destructive force. I was an injurer of men's brains."

This book is mind blowing. Story it self started to reach the climax. Gordon Rankin, the main character, started to express himself more and include himself in the story.

Strong/Poignant Word Image
“Let me start that again. I think about my life leading up to the moment you and I stopped being associated with each other, and if I were to write the key incidents down on piece of papers I‘d end up with a kind of grocery list of shame. In fact I've done this, and in fact that is precisely what I ended up with. Bullet points. Shame-pellets. “

Vocabulary
Loathing – Strong dislike
Stench – An offensive smell.
Benediction - An utterance of good wishes.

Rhetorical/Literacy Devices
Anaphora:
“I told myself there was no reason this visit shouldn't work out. I remember I was still trying to be normal at that point to force of decency onto my life. I didn't want to be the type of guy who was estranged from his father. I was trying not to be a lot of type of guy back then.”
Simile:
“My shiny new halo flickered and fizzled out like past-date Christmas lights.”


So far this book didn't disappoint me. The story and characters in this section are very well developed. One of the major aspects I noticed was the way that the main character expressed his feelings. It’s very unique and inventive.

The book I have chosen to read is The Antagonist by Lynn Coady. This is a book about a person going through a betrayal and putting himself back together. I chose this book because I enjoy reading psychological fiction. This book has a very powerful name and a cover that depicts the idea of being an antagonist. Also the excerpt gave a good impression to dig more of it. This book has been reviewed by several mainstream magazines. Some of the reviewers identified this book as combination of suspense and brutality. Those elements always have been fascinating to me. I found this book in 2011 Scotiabank Giller prize shortlist. I did have a tough time selecting this book out of several other books that was listed.