Continuing on The Namesake
sanyuja said:
Errr... can you please elaborate on this? Can you please give examples, if possible?
[line breaks: time passes]
I didn’t mean it as an insult to her, in fact I think it’s a trait more should pick up on. Anyway, I don’t have the book here for a specific example, but I just meant that in the course of a changing paragraph (with a
[---]
line break, time passes.
This happens all the time, although generally it is stated in the text, which is abundantly unnecessary.
“jay proved himself to not know what he’s talking about but he carried on anyway.”
[line break]
“Five weeks later he decided to jump out the window”
One line later, over a month passed.
I think the best way to sum this up is by someone that uses the line break exceptionally well, “the connective tissue of a story is often the white space, which is not empty.” – Amy Hempel.
I agree with you. The pages on Maxine were not really necessary. I think there was a mention of Gogol's name when Maxine was around and there was some discussion on that, (was it there?) which could have been removed.
Indeed. But even that name mention (his mother lets the name slip when seeing them off) is not really gone into. Which is fine, it needn’t be hammered home every chapter, although further development on a theme _could_ have been played with. Now knowing her boyfriend’s pet name _she_ tries to use it on him, maybe at a time of playfulness, or intimacy, or even at a time when he’s mad about something, and this could have brought it back into the light.
Instead, the whole thing (the relationship) was merely a set-up so that he could seem more the isolationist when his father died. Which wasn’t important (the former, not the later) in the least.
In essence, if this relationship never happened, or happened minimally on the page (i.e. before our eyes) this would have _brought out_ the guilt the mother has at the end, that the woman she chose for him -the marriage- ended badly. If we (or at least she) only knew Gogol to have some brief relationships, and not blatant ‘mom doesn’t approve’ relationships, the guilt which, granted isn’t terribly important, would have been more painful, as she would have carried a, ‘what if he chose his own wife?’ tone instead of a ‘well, he screwed up when he picked ‘em for himself too’.
You are right yet again. Somehow, the sudden change of narration of Gogol to his wife took me by surprise. This was probably to give more depth to his wife's character?
Hmmm, more than likely just a set up for the reader to feel (more) sympathy for Gogol, as he’s out lead and she’s cheating on him. We (as readers) have an investment in her as our lead’s “love”, but then she betrays him, and therefore us.
With the use of line breaks all that could have been skipped over and/or could have been told differently.
A simple next chapter lets us know that almost 2 years have passed, and that Gogol not only knows of the affair now, and not only are they separated, but now fully divorced.
Controlling time within one’s work is also a hard to hone skill. And a prime example of why many writers have shown better skill when sticking with the shorter form.
You know what? I never thought of this. I never even imagined that the issue might come up again when Gogol has a kid. Funny!
I was hoping it wouldn’t and I was fearing it right until the end. But again, it is a thing she could have played with. If not the actualization, the mere question of it, be it from his wife or internally, to himself.
Can't comment on this. I haven't read any of his books!
worth a flip, certainly.
With far too many commas,
j
