Wednesday, June 12, 2013
Children
I've read "Little Children" by this same author, and a theme in that book was how the adults mostly behaved in ways that were rationally indistinct from how the little kids behaved, even though the adults had this veneer of maturity and rationality covering their behaviors. I'm wondering if something similar is going on here with the way the author seems to give the adults and the kids similar voices, as if to underline that they are all really the same, differing only in age.
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7 comments:
Yeah, I definitely see the connection. Grown-ups behaving like children seems to be a theme Perrotta likes to explore.
I thought Paul seemed the most mature and well-adjusted character in this book. He was supposed to be the jock Golden Boy of the school, but he didn't seem to have much ego about it. He was gracious about his win and his subsequent defeat. He didn't cheat on anything or anyone.
So in his other novels, did Perrotta use the changing-narrator format, or did he stick with one? Do you recommend any of them? I'll have to check out what else he wrote.
C, I think the narrator changed in "Little Children" (it's been a few years since I read that), but not in others. I do highly recommend that book, yeah. I found it very riveting.
I've been on a Tom Perrotta binge the last few weeks! I read his short story collection "Bad Haircut," which is about growing up in the 1970s. Really liked that. Very poignant, but not weighed down by sickly sweet nostalgia.
And I read his novel "Joe College," which is about this young guy's experience being from a blue-collar family and attending Yale. I enjoyed that. I didn't find the writing in it as compelling, but it's a fun read.
Just finished "The Abstinence Teacher," about the clash between a public school sex ed teacher and a fundamentalist church. I loved the subject matter and some of the characters, but I thought it rambled a bit and lost its way in places. Still good, though. Could have benefitted, I thought, from the treatment in "Election": short, crisp chapters told from different perspectives.
Might try "The Wishbones" next.
I recommend "Little Children," too. Great story with complicated characters. The movie was pretty good, too, although I didn't like some of the changes they made.
Speaking of which, have you guys seen the "Election" movie?
I have "Election" right now from Netflix, but haven't watched it yet.
Yes, the movie is terrific. Tracy is PERFECTLY cast. Some changes around Tracy change the story, though. You'll see what I mean when you watch it. The ending, too. Whenever you both see it, it would be fun to discuss!
KC, I think all those stories sound good. Maybe I'll check some out.
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