Read it, AP 2015! discussion

Since we won't have time to talk about the book in class, some people might be interested in posting their reactions, and maybe some ideas for questions to ask Clare when she visits on April 2.

Anything is fair game, here -- no judgment, no marking -- but try to keep things cordial! If you didn't enjoy something, feel free to comment on why; you may find that others agree but also that others disagree, and perhaps their comments can help you appreciate their perspectives.

As I was reading some of these stories, my Speakers' Union mind was saying, "Wow, some of these would be awesome for interpretive reading!" Especially the one about the museum of miniatures -- I loved the voice of the tour guide, the improbability of some of the descriptions of the miniatures she describes, and the slow revealing of her own inner world as she opens up to her audience.

I also really liked the story about the blue tent -- it reminded me a bit of the musical "Tommy" (maybe it's no surprise that the story is called "Sensation"?) in the way that something so seemingly ordinary (sitting in a tent pitched indoors / playing pinball) so suddenly achieves mythic attraction and is just as quickly and suddenly deflated.

Overall I felt that this book was enjoyable and refreshing for the imagination. This rings through especially in the chapter titled Sensation which is about some kind of miraculous tent inside a living room that has become a major attraction in this town. I noticed that the author, while giving an interesting story, leaves room for the reader to imagine what is so special about that tent. It wasn't until a discussion with a friend that I realized how different interpretations of one tent could be and I think it would be interesting to discuss in class how we pictured the tent.

One problem that I found with the book was the conclusions of the stories, or lack there of. All the story felt like they were in the beginning or middle of the book and only few felt like the story had actually ended by the time that they in fact ended. Even though I understand that these are only short stories, as a reader who reads mostly typical, beginning to end novels I found myself frustrated.

I hear you on the conclusions. I'm not usually a short story fan for the same reason. With these, some (like "Sensation") definitely had more closure than others. The first story that seemed to end just as it was building shocked me. I actually flipped the page back and forth for a moment, wondering what I'd missed. But once I got over that and realized that each story was, in its own way, simply a slice of life, and that in each case, the story was about the build-up to some kind of major change for one of the characters and then left you to imagine their next steps, I felt as though I could let go of the need for the storyline to resolve. It was like taking a deep breath just before jumping into the water.