Tzu Hsuan từ Uttar Char Chandpur, West Bengal, India

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05/07/2024

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Tzu Hsuan Sách lại (10)

2019-05-11 15:31

Văn Học Tuổi 20 - Gia Tộc Ăn Đất Thư viện Sách hướng dẫn

Sách được viết bởi Bởi: Lê Minh Nhựt

I attempted to read this book in moderation and failed miserably. Every time I thought I knew where it was heading it went in an unexpected direction and I had to keep reading. I finished it in one great gulp and then started back at the beginning, reading more slowly to savor it the second time around. At one point in the novel, a character views the city from a distance... "from this vantage point Manhattan was simply so improbable, so wonderful, so obviously full of promise--that you wanted to approach it for the rest of your life without ever quite arriving." That's how I felt as I read the book, like I just wanted to keep enjoying the writing without ever coming to the end. The book is about a pivotal year in Katey Kontent's life. Set in 1930s New York, it's filled with jazz and gin, charm and wit, and an undercurrent of darkness. It's like the city, in a way, glittering and alluring from afar and yet dirty and gritty once you get in closer and see the reality of things. More than the details of the story, I enjoyed the feeling of the novel. There's some ugly things happening here, but the writing is oh so beautiful. And the ideas about certain people and specific moments having a big effect on the rest of your life is so true. At various points in the story it shifts from Katey's first person perspective to what's going on with another character. I found it interesting that this same technique was used in The Paris Wife. With both books being published in 2011, did the authors stumble upon this idea at the same time? While I thought the technique was used to greater effect in The Paris Wife, overall I enjoyed this book more. I wish I could change my Goodreads vote for 2011's best historical fiction to Rules of Civility! In my rereading, I found I didn't sympathize with Katey quite as much. (view spoiler) But I did appreciate the chapter titles even more. And the one scene that had seemed out of place to me and left dangling the first time around (La Belle Epoque) made more sense in the scheme of needs and wants, choices and consequences. (view spoiler) Lots of things are ripe for discussion here. I don't know if my bookclub will get around to it, but here's what I'd like to talk about: Tinker has a set of rules he lives by, and Evey expresses at one point that she's willing to be under anything, as long as it isn't somebody's thumb. What are examples of these characters following their chosen rules of conduct? What rules govern the lives of the other characters, like Katey, Anne, Hank and Wallace? Much is made of the choices people make and what it costs them. As Katey says, "I know that right choices by definition are the means by which life crystallizes loss." What did the various characters lose out on by making the choices they did? Were they the right choices anyway? At one point, Anne says: "Most people have more needs than wants. That's why they live the lives they do. But the world is run by those whose wants outstrip their needs." Do you think that's true? What characters are ruled more by needs, and more by wants? Some things are left ambiguous in the end. Was this a good decision on the author's part, or did you want more closure? (view spoiler) Did you find the male author writing a woman's perspective convincing? How might the book have been different if it were written by a woman, or with a man as the main character? The book felt very cinematic to me, in a classic movie kind of way. I found myself trying to imagine actors in the parts. Would the novel make a good movie? What actors (current or past) would you cast in the roles? Comments welcome. :-)

Người đọc Tzu Hsuan từ Uttar Char Chandpur, West Bengal, India

Người dùng coi những cuốn sách này là thú vị nhất trong năm 2017-2018, ban biên tập của cổng thông tin "Thư viện Sách hướng dẫn" khuyến cáo rằng tất cả các độc giả sẽ làm quen với văn học này.