Sunday, January 20, 2008
the 2nd half
After the discussion we had last Wednesday, I decided to read the other stories with different views and expectations. And to tell you truth, I really liked them. My favorites were Lull and The Great Divorce. They were so different, yet I could understand the characters. On the other hand, Zombie Contingency Plans infuriated me. Did he really kidnap her little brother? I'm sure the story meant something else, symbolically, but I couldn't stop thinking about how stupid that girl was. She told her whole life to this stranger, who had been in jail, and she fell asleep while he was in the bedroom with her and her little brother. She was so naive!!! The Great Divorce was very interesting in the way the dead are still alive and part of their everyday lives. But Lull was beyond good. There were stories inside stories, inside more stories. It was great. The first setting was about a group of guys who lives were so miserable that they had to call a sex (sorta) hotline in order to escape a little. And then, just the way the next story unfolded, about how time moved backwards and you knew everything that was going to happen already -- it was genius. I wouldn't necessarily like that applied to my life, because then, life would absolutely be ruled by fate, no question about it. I want a little mystery behind what I'm doing. It's what drives us forward. There might be something better lurking around the corner, you never know, and that's the best part. Somebody should base a movie behind that idea though, and then the end could be a complete twist by changing an event, so it wouldn't be fate, and it in turn, changes all of the future, or the "past". Anyways, I'm rambling. I enjoyed it. I hope I didn't ruin the stories for anyone who hasn't read them yet.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
5 comments:
PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE read Italo Calvino's novel IF ON A WINTER'S NIGHT A TRAVELER. If you enjoyed "Lull" as much as you assert, you'll LOVE this book. I cannot overemphasize its regal literary magnificence.
Anywho, I've already mentioned my theory about "Some Zombie Contingency Plans" in another comment (and treasure hunts are fun!) so I won't repeat them here. (ok, maybe I will, a little. I think it highlights the importance of 'being prepared' for evil to creep up on you. And maybe it's a self-mocking critique of the fantasy genre.)
I also adored "The Great Divorce." I think it might be a commentary about relationships in general and the difficulties of communication between individuals.
If you want a movie that starts with the answers there was one out recently. I cant think of the name of the movie and it is driving me crazy. It was about a woman that wakes up a week in the future and her husband is dead. Then every day she wakes up is a day in the past or future where he is alive one day and dead the next. I was not pleased with the end but if you like this collection of short stories you will like how this one ends.
The name of that movie is Premonition...I think. With Sandra Bullock?
You're correct about Premonition, Courtney.
Speaking of "self-mocking critique of the fantasy genre," as Casey put it: Jessica's reference to "a group of guys whose lives were so miserable that they had to call a sex (sorta) hotline in order to escape a little" reminded me of our earlier discussion about fantasy as escape, and of Jessica's comparison in particular:
"Like husbands who lie to their wives to experience a once-a-week, different life by going to stripclubs or playing fantasy football/baseball with their buddies, we fantasy fans imagine a magical world in which we can also belong to."
Wow, thanks Andy! I hadn't thought of what I had said. LOL. It almost matches, and to think I wrote it before reading the book. Weird
Post a Comment