Maija > Recent Status Updates

holy secondhand embarrassment
more of a plot chapter than a political recap chapter which i can appreciate
alvin is based

reading for class; chapters are super long and i am super behind but the writing style is interesting. lots of very long sentences and an interesting use of em dashes

interested to see how all the scientific concepts connect... this fuck ass game bru

More and more intrigued—message in Hazel’s notes and the faculty letter suggesting he is unqualified (he is, especially noting a typo in the line note “Lit) and “known to have a deranged mind.” Is this true? Is he genuinely insane??? I need to know more about what’s happening and what his deal is so bad

Commentary more interesting, seems to be a tie between Kinbote’s Zembla ramblings and Shade’s death. Notable contradictions in poem and Kinbote’s interpretation and blatant disinterest in contents (such as Hazel) as opposed to own contextually irrelevant ramblings. Nonetheless still very intriguing and Kinbote’s obsession is further intriguing—did Shade know? Sybil definitely did

Canto II is still my fav, but more cracks appearing in the narrator’s commentary aside from just the hints in the Foreword. Been flipping back and forth between the poem and the commentary and I’m intrigued by how they connect… a LOT of irrelevant tangents about Kinbote (symbiote?) himself and Zembla but I feel like there’s more than meets the eye given his clear instability.

Actual poem by Shade is fun to read so far, especially Canto II. I like how rhythm and rhyme schemes are used and how "time forked". Very fun to read, really enjoying the poem itself

Narrator in foreword is displaying a vaguely similar obsession that HH had for Dolores in Lolita. Definitely an unreliable narrator; some intentional typos too? And a vague mystery already established in his lacking explanations. An ego there, believes the poem NEEDS the commentary to be fully realized or sum bs

Why did I try to read while tipsy. Ok stuff about life and growing older and time passing and not being able to escape it but holding onto moments while you can… culmination of their perspectives in a sense

Lowkey confused again. Stuff about life changing and death and growing old and time and thinking of what your purpose is

A lot about society and how the people around us help compose our identities, and different perspectives of that: Bernard feeling fulfilled around others especially versus Louis and Rhoda preferring solitude to function at their best. Something about people being able to create their own moments with one another.

I especially like this section and the themes it covers, like who really are we? Who are we when we’re around other people and who are we when we’re alone? How do friendships affect us as people and how do we perceive our friends, how do we understand them and form our own perceptions of them? I’ve been thinking about this a lot, what factors make up the “self”, so this really affected me lol

The intermittent chapters with the third-person sunset descriptions are interesting. This one had a lot of life in it and descriptions of decaying life, and the way the waves were described is definitely foreshadowing… something. Interesting how life and its changes are explored so thoroughly throughout the perspectives of all characters and even the third person separation

A bit further in and the narrative is a bit more solid and makes more sense. Soliloquies/monologues of characters are confusing to get into at first and due to lack of outside presence, it’s difficult to discern what’s really happening at points, but I’m beginning to enjoy it more now. Definitely very modernist and experimental. Character voices very distinct

Good god what is happening

who up dehydrating

Da Shi master ragebaiter

Really curious turn of events… she definitely is aware, then, but there’s nothing she can do about it. She really has no other option but I feel like she’s coming up with something..?

CRAZY first chapter. Wonderful introduction to the history and characters

Interesting dynamic. Is she aware of it? She seems to have some awareness, but it’s limited

Holy fuck. Every twist has been foreshadowed well

I really like the portrayal of mental health in Chapter 12 with Teddy and Cawley. Also the dream sequence felt very realistic in how disjointed and seemingly nonsensical (but somewhat telling) it is. Very fun to read

Ch. 8: “Laugh,” she said to Chuck. “It’s good for the soul. Laugh.”

I like the conflict between Teddy and Dolores in the past. More compelling than everything being perfect and ideal all the time

one of the most insane coincidences of all time huh

Teddy super mentally unstable… kind of had a feeling, but the extent of his grief certainly isn’t normal. The line earlier about them needing to be checked in as a joke seems like a sort of foreshadowing in hindsight. Enjoying the tone and mystery so far, the dialogue being very quick and lacking dialogue tags makes it pretty snippy. ‘50s atmosphere well-done with narration and dialogue content itself.

WHO IS 67?

Ch 3… a little slow of a start but tone seems fitting for '50s setting thus far? Not very knowledgeable about mental health practices during the time so I'm interested in that aspect, even if not entirely accurate for fiction's sake

Pity for Charlotte? Interesting dynamic regarding her

69: "Gentlemen of the jury!" A lot of court-language (talk of "exhibits"); intended audience a jury, would possibly explain level of separation in language used

Figurative language is interesting again because there's a seeming separation of the sexual, despite the novel being about trying to actually indulge in that sexual... Page 62 for example talks about conjuring "milk, molasses, foaming champagne into a young lady's new white purse" rather than what actually happens. Layer of separation to make it more palatable? Wondering the intent