On to a new book!

Hey guys. This is Kim. So after the last meeting I think I can safely say that the general consensus on Middlesex is that it lacked a few too many things to be considered a great book. Many people, myself included, were even baffled that it is a Pulitzer Prize winner. The story itself was amazing. It was not only creative, but interesting , original, and educational. In the first half of the novel I learned so much about not only Greece but early Detroit.
That being said Eugenides particular style left so much more to be desired. A few people at the meeting went as far to call him smug and condescending. His metaphors felt both overdone and incomplete at the same time. There was also a mention of him being a little unrealistic. (What are the chances of a hermaphrodite growing up on a street called Middlesex?)

I personally struggled with two things: his over-foreshadowing and his narration. As far as the foreshadowing, I got tired of being told that at some point he was going to explain certain things over and over again. Finally when the explanation was given it wasn't worth the wait.

The narrator as a character was also quite difficult for me. He wrote the book in first person as a hermaphrodite man writing a book, needing to get the whole situation off of his chest. At point's the narrator calls on the reader to observe or decide certain things, making the whole fake memoir thing even more confusing. Are we really supposed to actually invest ourselves in this whole mess as a fly on the wall, ignoring the fact that it is all fiction?

Anyway, I thought the book was actually a great success. This is definitely a fun group to have the gloves come off and really lay into a topic. I really enjoy getting critical with everyone.

One important thing that we need to discuss is if the next meeting should be moved. Jane is going to be in Ecuador and requested that we push it back a week. Any thoughts?

I am excited for the discussion of Dunces, especially because it is completely different type of book. COMEDY!

Here is a link to a little info about John Kennedy Toole. His story is pretty interesting, mainly because he killed himself 11 years prior to the books publication.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Kennedy_Toole