02-15-2015, 10:28 AM | #16 |
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I've read about 30%. The landscape just became Toronto. I didn't initially vote for this book because of its poetic style. However, I am quite liking it. The writing is very lyrical and haunting. I like the random poetic fragments and the overlay of memories. It really pulls on all five senses with the vivid and sometimes contradictory descriptions (like burning ice) which I think provokes a more intense emotional response. Blindness feels tangible. I borrowed the audiobook from my library and yesterday listened to some of the passages while following along with the written-word which had a powerful impact.
I think this book pairs very nicely with last month's selection. They have similar themes of time past-present-future, war, destruction, finding hope and light from the depths of darkness and despair, use of elements like air and water, power of landscapes (places lived and visited), etc. I think since my thoughts are still lingering on that poem in the back of my brain that it put me in a more open, receptive mindset for this book. |
02-20-2015, 08:22 PM | #17 |
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I didn't mention that I did finish this.
At first, when the second voice chimed in I was a bit disappointed. It was a bit like starting again. Although I was drawn in to Ben's story as I continued reading, it was only to a point. Instead of reaching towards some kind of culmination that merged the two voices in an epiphany of sorts, (which was what I was expecting), I instead found myself less and less interested in Ben and a bit out of sorts with everything. My thoughts on the prose was that its poetic nature both elevated the story and hampered it. Of course, whether the story itself was of primary importance is disputable. If we see Michaels as a poet more than a novelist, the plot becomes a means to a end rather than the end itself. Fortunately (or unfortunately) such works tend to challenge the reader to participate and work harder - to find additional meaning in links that are sometimes more obscure. I don't think Fugitive Pieces was a cryptic riddle, but given the reading environments I had throughout, I probably profited less than I should have. I did take something away from the experience. I did feel an amazing love represented by Jakob's relationship with Michaela. I did like the exploration of memory - especially dark memories - by many different people. I don't know if the author was trying to say something specific about the Nazi extermination of Jews in World War II, or that she just thought it was an excellent backdrop to explore the nature of memory and how it shapes you - and, more importantly, how it shapes different people differently. I really enjoyed how love was introduced as almost an antidote for Jakob. Through the years, his benefactor had attempted to help him, and did. However, for the most part Jakob was still burying his past. His love for Michaela finally allowed him to start opening the doors that he had closed. It's not specifically stated how far he'd come, but if we assume that the first two thirds of the book were compiled from the notes Ben found, he hadn't done too badly. At least the memories had come out of his dreams and into conscious thought. Ben was a different, but also interesting, exploration of memory; hereditary memory. Even though this was the aspect of the story that fell down for me, the idea was a really interesting juxtaposition to the first-hand memories explored earlier. Ben made me start thinking about the descendants of people who have experienced extreme trauma, not just in Nazi Germany. I started thinking about how experiences can impact people for generations. I know there were other aspects to this book - music for example. However, I don't think I joined the dots on any of this. It's strange as music is really important to me; I even write it on occasion. But my appreciation of it is more abstract and I didn't really get the references. Anyway, very glad I read the book even if it didn't quite hit the sweet spot for me. |
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02-20-2015, 11:34 PM | #18 |
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02-20-2015, 11:59 PM | #19 | |
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Quote:
I played in bands and orchestras through university. During some of the passages, I felt an emotional reaction that was more similar to how I feel when I'm playing an expressive piece than sitting and listening to one. Sounds weird but I guess that means it really connected with me. It was kind of an odd sensation and an interesting thought that popped into my head. |
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02-22-2015, 12:11 AM | #20 |
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Maybe too similar, but if I think about the title and the music theme then it makes a little more sense to me. I read it as being given variations on a similar theme. I very much appreciated the music. The mindful thoughts of interpretation. Then again I am as happy reading a book as sitting at the piano and slow-practicing something for hours.
I found the writing beautiful in places and frustrating at times. I can probably attribute that to a rhythm that I was enjoying being lost. |
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02-22-2015, 12:18 AM | #21 | ||
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From the point of view of a novel, it's possible that it was Jakob adopting Ben's voice rather than the inverse. It entirely depends on the level of detail found in Jakob's notebooks. But you'll come across that yourself. Quote:
I just went to YouTube and listed to some of the Piano Quartet in C Minor Op 60 I Allegro ma non troppo which I think was mentioned in the book(??) Never heard it before. It was nice - but I'm not really sure how I attach a significance to the reference within the story. |
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02-22-2015, 12:08 PM | #22 |
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I find the thoughts about Ben interesting. This was the third time through for me of this book and I've loved it more each time. I distinctly remember feeling a little worn out by the time Ben showed. I felt emotionally spent by that point and didn't really appreciate the character much. I feel completely differently about him now and really enjoyed the last part of the book.
What caught me off guard was how angry I was with Ben regarding the whole relationship with Petra. I don't see Ben as a later version of Jakob and this relationship is one of the reasons why. Jakob would never have gotten caught up in that situation. Someone mentioned how they viewed the novel as a series of poems. Hmmm. I remember last month struggling through the poetry and again determining how I need plot and characters to keep me interested. This book represents the perfect bridge for me. I really do not like poetry, but I love poetic writing that keeps me focused on a story with real people. About half-way through the book Michaels writes that "History is amoral: events occurred. But memory is moral; what we consciously remember is what our conscience remembers." This book caused me many times to stop reading, close my eyes, ponder memories that play a big part in my story and attempt to re-remember, trying to separate the moral from the amoral. It's hard. |
02-22-2015, 02:52 PM | #23 | |
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I thought this was an interesting quote by the author that I found on the University of Toronto website.
Quote:
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02-22-2015, 04:37 PM | #24 |
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Lovely quote Bookworm_Girl - thanks for sharing it. I'm not surprised that Anne Michaels is also a musician: the memories of Bella talking about music and interpretation had to be written by someone who knew the music intimately.
Thanks too to ccowie: very interesting observation about memory and morality. |
02-22-2015, 08:58 PM | #25 |
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I remember the memory quote and it struck me as just so right. Having read s bit about memory and how the pathways in our brains change and the stories them self change. That is the morality in it. It is our conscious choices in how we remember that gives a picture of our moral landscape. More importantly to me, we often remember how we want to be viewed. Our moral compass.
I very much viewed the book as a series of glimpses as opposed to a straight through story with a set plot path. |
02-23-2015, 01:50 PM | #26 | ||
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I was also struck by the truth of this quote: "History is amoral: events occurred. But memory is moral; what we consciously remember is what our conscience remembers." I loved the language of Fugitive Pieces and the meditations upon history and memory. Like Caleb, I did not connect to the passages about music in the way that I would have wished or expected. That surprises me because I love music. I once thought I even had a passion for it, but that was because I had not yet discovered my passion for geology and the processes of nature.
I loved the passages about the memory of nature. Quote:
So did Athos and he passed on that awareness to Jakob. Here are three of the best paragraphs: Quote:
Last edited by BelleZora; 02-24-2015 at 01:11 PM. Reason: Added photo |
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02-23-2015, 04:18 PM | #27 |
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Great post Belle and isn't that tree an amazing sight. Thanks for posting the photograph, as well as your thoughts.
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02-24-2015, 02:12 PM | #28 | |
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But these are only early impressions. Last edited by fantasyfan; 02-24-2015 at 02:25 PM. |
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02-25-2015, 08:44 AM | #29 |
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I wouldn't call her style stream of consciousness, but I'm not sure if that's what you're saying or just that people who like stream of consciousness writing would also like this. It's not linear, but there are a few dominant themes that she continuously works with.
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02-27-2015, 05:10 PM | #30 | |
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I haven't read enough to really properly judge it. The poetic quality of the prose is so very haunting but it slows my reading (as it should). It is certainly a superior literary work but it may take me some time to complete it. |
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