Tuesday, September 18, 2012
Journal 2
For this Journal I wanted to talk about the book "Liar" that we read for class. The discussion in class was primarily about metaphors and symbols in the text. A class discussion should not be based around the simple question "Did you like the book?", rather that question should be answered outside of class, as in a journal entry. To answer the simple question, no I did not like this book at all. The first section of the book made it into a crime drama set in a high school and rather than following the case or a detective, we followed a student. There were parts that were cliche that have been done before, like the grief of the students and the questions and rumors that arose. The text did not progress very quickly and the reader was not drawn in. Then we got to the second section. In here we find out that the main character is actually a ware wolf, and she has been lieing to the reader the whole time, even though she made it clear she would not. This section was just ridiculous, I almost couldn't keep reading. It was if the author got bored half way through and didn't know where to go for the story, so she just tossed this in. This section was not a believable plot twist. It was too different and too ridiculous for the reader to take seriously. The third section really just exposed the many lies that were told to the reader. Because I was lied to the whole time, it made me question the point of actually reading the first parts of the book. In class many ideas were brought up about what the book may actually be about or what may actually be happening. A reoccurring idea was that she was in a mental hospital and all of this was not real. My problem here is that I did not see enough evidence in the text to make me believe that that was what actually happened. If something that "out of left field" was what the story actually was, then we as readers need more evidence to lead us to that understanding. I'm just being honest in this journal, saying I very much did not like this book. In class discussion is no place for simple "I liked/disliked this book" statements, so I will save said statements for journals.
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Good point. The "did you like the book" question is a dead question (except when you expand upon why, as you did in this journal... but usually people don't elaborate this much in discussion). However, I wish you had mentioned that you didn't see evidence in the novel that supports the reader to draw the conclusion of the main character being in a mental hospital, making all of the stories up. I believe that could have been beneficial to discussion because then the class could have dug through the book looking for clues that support it or details that make it harder to come to that conclusion.
ReplyDeleteSince I wasn't there for the discussion though, I guess I'm not completely sure whether or not you guys did discuss certain points in the book that could lead the reader one way or another.
You got that right: A class discussion should not be based around the simple question "Did you like the book?", rather that question should be answered outside of class, as in a journal entry.
ReplyDeleteIs the second section meant to be a "believeable plot twist"? I'd argue Larbalestier gave this considerable thought, whether what she planned succeeded or not. I'd argue, too, there's considerable evidence that's she's instituitonalized and trying to deal with it in the only way she can--telling herself stories about it.