Housekeeping and I don't mix
The shift from the Bell Jar to Housekeeping was massive. Esther's extremely detailed narrative voice was nothing like Ruth's slow, and rather emotionless voice, so it took awhile to get accustomed to.
To be completely honest, I didn't enjoy Housekeeping as much as the other books we've read so far. I think one of the things that prevented me from really diving into the book was the fact the beginning was slow and long. Ruth's voice isn't the kind that immediately draws you in, like Holden and Esther, but rather the kind that continues drag something on and takes forever to get to the point. That kind of narrative style isn't something that I enjoy just because I like books where the narrator is having a conversation with you, because while you're reading the book, you also feel like you're building a relationship with the narrator. I never got that feeling while reading Housekeeping, it just felt as if I was reading a news article or something.
What was really chilling about Housekeeping was the way Ruth narrated about pretty traumatic events. Unlike Holden and Esther, who both were able to convey how they felt about certain things in a very passionate way, Ruth is the total opposite. There's just something odd about how insensitive of her retelling of her grandfather's death was as if it was something she saw in a movie and she has no personal relationship with it. It made me cringe as a reader.
I'm not saying Housekeeping isn't a terrible book, because it's not, there are a lot of unique things about it, like how it's a book you have to read really slowly in order to catch the rather subtle, but fun details, but it just wasn't the book for me.
To be completely honest, I didn't enjoy Housekeeping as much as the other books we've read so far. I think one of the things that prevented me from really diving into the book was the fact the beginning was slow and long. Ruth's voice isn't the kind that immediately draws you in, like Holden and Esther, but rather the kind that continues drag something on and takes forever to get to the point. That kind of narrative style isn't something that I enjoy just because I like books where the narrator is having a conversation with you, because while you're reading the book, you also feel like you're building a relationship with the narrator. I never got that feeling while reading Housekeeping, it just felt as if I was reading a news article or something.
What was really chilling about Housekeeping was the way Ruth narrated about pretty traumatic events. Unlike Holden and Esther, who both were able to convey how they felt about certain things in a very passionate way, Ruth is the total opposite. There's just something odd about how insensitive of her retelling of her grandfather's death was as if it was something she saw in a movie and she has no personal relationship with it. It made me cringe as a reader.
I'm not saying Housekeeping isn't a terrible book, because it's not, there are a lot of unique things about it, like how it's a book you have to read really slowly in order to catch the rather subtle, but fun details, but it just wasn't the book for me.
It's interesting to see how different books attract readers in different ways. I know what you mean about this book starting off super slow, and contrasting a conversational narrative voice like Holden's with Ruth's spacey narrations is really interesting. Housekeeping required a lot of patience from me as a reader, but I appreciated the amount of artistry in Robinson's words. It just took some time to catch them, which I honestly we didn't have enough time to dig deep into. I think Ruth's narrations reflected exactly how she felt as a person, especially by the end of the novel -- detached from reality, as if she was stuck in this cloud high in the sky and was perfectly okay with how the wind pushed her because there was nothing she could do about it.
ReplyDeleteThat's the fascinating thing about coming-of-age novels: it's a double-edged sword. These types of novels are narrated in the first person, so it's all from their perspective. For example, Holden draws the reader in with very bold opinions and statements. He makes you think his perspective is correct and thus sometimes hides his own hypocrisy. Remember that Ruth's narration style fits with her personality: she's always going with the flow.
ReplyDeleteIn short, it's what Mr. Mitchell said: if you like the character, you'll probably love the book; if you don't like the character, you'll probably dislike the book.