Quote:
Originally Posted by caleb72
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.
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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Great post, caleb! I'm curious if you thought the voice of Ben was distinct enough. I've read criticism that it was too similar to Jakob. Looking forward to reading more of the book this weekend, and I should be getting into the Ben chapters.
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.