Tournament of Books discussion

Space to discuss TOB 2023 contender "The Book of Goose" by Yiyun Li.

I'm surprised no one's talking about this! I read it months ago, and I thought the writing was fantastic, I loved the nuance of Agnes's character and the relationship between the girls. It did bog down for me a little in the middle, but on the whole (especially considering the competition) I think this will be one of my top 3 favorites.

Sad that it's going up against the Marra...I didn't love the Marra (not big on Hollywood stories in general), but the theme is more epic, and I think it'll be tough competition.

I'm surprised, too. It is a terrific and subtle book about friendship and story telling (among other things). And Mrs. Townsend is an unforgettable villain; the incarnation of the banality of evil.

I also fear it will lose to the more showy and accessible =Mercury Pictures Presents=, but judges in the Tournament can be unpredictable. I can see Judge Orlando picking either.

I really enjoyed this one, too. I've read both, and I prefer Book of Goose. I liked how the narrator is trying to come to terms with the power-imbalance in the friendship between the two girls. It is subtle, and these types of character-driven stories generally appeal to me. It is beautifully written and easy to tell that the author enjoys wordplay. She captured the intimacy of youthful friendship, while drawing the reader into their world. It is a wonderful reading experience for those who enjoy quiet stories about human connections.

If it was just a story of the friendship it would have been a 5 star read for me but unfortunately the entire boarding school and Mrs. Townsend sections were so dull to me. We had this very enticing friendship we were following and then all of a sudden we were reading a fairly rote boarding school novel. Maybe rote is unfair, but English-boarding-school-headmistress-is-evil did not do much for me.

The boarding school section is indispensable to the novel. It was not rote, actually. As readers, we are expecting the usual horrors of that setting (particularly in the interplay between Agnes and the gardener, and/or between Agnes and the photographer) but it turns out that the horror is much more subtle -- Townsend is a writer manque who is trying to create an artistic identity on the back of a child while that child is trying to discover a self.

The other interesting thing about the boarding school experience is that it temporarily shifts the balance of power from Fabienne to Agnes by physically separating the two and giving Agnes a set of insights and experiences that Fabienne can only have as filtered through Agnes's description of them. It is also, of course, the juncture that ultimately allows Agnes to begin a new phase of her young adult life and (much later) begin her life as a writer of her own story. Why? Because Fabienne recognizes before Agnes does that Agnes is now different and that the relationship between them is forever changed.

I really enjoyed this book. In addition to the friendship, it provided a fresh view of the creative process and the role of other people - as victims, helpers, muses, users, etc.

It had a slightly menacing undertone because I didn’t know how far Fabienne would take things. What was she capable of? Could she kill someone, or harm her friend? ( I started thinking of the true life story of the two Australian girls who killed one of their parents. They had a similarly intense friendship. One of those girls grew up to become the writer Anne Perry. ) Fortunately, the author has better ideas. I love that even a month later I’m still thinking about this book.

The child prodigy aspect of the story is also interesting, and I wondered if the author had some personal insights there. We’re so attuned to the dangers that teens face from adults, it was interesting to see how teens can be dangerous to adults. (I’m thinking of the gardener at the moment.)

Risa wrote: "The boarding school section is indispensable to the novel. It was not rote, actually. [...] it turns out that the horror is much more subtle."

Echoing all this. Thanks!

(Plus it creates the opportunity for Fabienne to become Jacques.)

Risa wrote: "The boarding school section is indispensable to the novel. It was not rote, actually...The other interesting thing about the boarding school experience is that it temporarily shifts the balance of power from Fabienne to Agnes..."

Wow, I come with hat in hand with apologies to this book. I definitely did not fully grasp these subtle details and I love, love that you brought my attention to it. It still isn't my pick of the litter but I am happy to see that most of the book's shortcomings were because of my reading of it.

I can’t edit on the app from what I can see, but that was supposed to be MY reading of it.

Kip wrote: "I can’t edit on the app from what I can see, but that was supposed to be MY reading of it."

I understood what you meant! And - no worries at all. One of the best things about this group and tournament for me is getting to see books through the eyes of other dedicated readers and learning things from what they saw that I did not.

I can see I’m gonna need to move this one higher on my TBR. ❤️

I read this book (listened to it on audiobook) and enjoyed it. I agree certain parts were boring. I didn't like the boarding school parts either @kip.

I wanted her back on the farm. But then when she went back, it got even more depressing.

At first I felt disappointed with the ending and wanted more to happen. The book seemed not to be about much except boredom and unfulfilled dreams/desires and how life can be so morbid and how death is such a part of life.

But it's been sticking with me and I've been wishing I could keep listening to more of it. I liked the characters. I did like the part of the boarding school where she went head to head with the headmistress. (Ha.)

I wanted her to run off with the gardener. Or I wanted her and Fabienne to end up happily a couple although I know that wasn't how things were done back then.

I guess I felt unfulfilled like they did, and that was the whole point of the story maybe. At least to me.

I liked it but didn't love it. I certainly didn't hate it. it was a quick read and I'm glad I read it.

I thought it was meh. I wanted more from the characters, the ground work was there but it went nowhere.

It obviously wasn't a plot-heavy book, but for me I think the most interesting part of this was Agnes's character. Li talks about why she used Agnes as the POV character, because she was more nuanced, and thus more interesting, than Fabienne, and I thought it was an interesting and effective choice. I also thought exploring the idea of who owned Agnes/Fabienne's stories was also interesting.

I read this last summer, and didn't think it would stick with me, but it obviously has. There was something in the relationship between the girls, the mix of unrequited love and violence, that really haunted me.

I just finished this one last night, and I also loved it like so many of you did. The relationship dynamic between Agnes and Fabienne is so beautifully handled throughout the novel. The complexity, the ambiguity, the shifts in power over time—all of it is so well rendered. So many books written for adults (as this one was) oversimplify or dismiss relationships between children. This book really captures this complicated relationship, and I love that the author refuses to tie up everything in a neat bow at the end of the story.

I finished yesterday and let it sink in before reading this thread. I wonder if I read this sooner in the TOB if I would have enjoyed it more, or outside the TOB all together. Maybe just the mood I was in, but both Agnes and Fabienne annoyed and frustrated me throughout the book, probably their age and immaturity? I almost quit the book, but I'm glad I stuck with it at least for the ending.

I loved this book -- my favorite of the tournament so far. I'm a big fan of the f*cked-up teenage girl friendship theme, so it was a given from the first page. So glad the tournament handed me this one.

Tim wrote: "Risa wrote: "The boarding school section is indispensable to the novel. It was not rote, actually. [...] it turns out that the horror is much more subtle."

Echoing all this. Thanks!

(Plus it crea..."

yes! Fabienne as Jacques was the best/most heartbreaking part. The boarding school section to me is saved from simply country mouse/city mouse because of this tension. It's mid-century (or was it the 30's? I'm forgetting which WW.) Juliet and Juliet.

I listened to this on audiobook and I'm not sure if it was the narrator's accent or the characters themselves, but I couldn't stand any of the characters in this novel--Fabienne especially. Weirdly, despite hating the characters, I thought the book was worthwhile and interesting. I liked a lot of the subtle interactions and appreciated the ennui of it all. Not my favorite book of the tournament, certainly, but I'm glad to have read it regardless.

Laura wrote: "I listened to this on audiobook and I'm not sure if it was the narrator's accent or the characters themselves, but I couldn't stand any of the characters in this novel--Fabienne especially. Weirdly..."

I didn't like any of the characters either. But I found them interesting. I read it in print. I really liked the book. I thought it was a great representation of the intensity of childhood/adolescent friendship and how that often does not survive to adulthood.