As I was getting ready to type up this blog I had two friends in my living room. I mentioned that it was time to get out my book with a cover that looks like flesh. They were a little confused at that so I passed them the book and naturally the cover weirded them out. What weirded them out the most was when they opened the book and their faces scrunched up and they asked if this was some sort of cult book. I told them that my professor would never assign us such a thing. Clearly the structure and inside of the book is very odd. Incredibly so, and my friends got very confused and a little disturbed looking through it. Mostly confused. We English majors might be used to a novel like this compared to say a Japanese and Psychology major. However, it did get me thinking...
For what reason is the novel set up this way? What does it achieve? It is certainly not set up like a normal novel and the extra text around the plot is confusing yet important. There are things like mentions of "Babel?" and "Birth of a nation" on page 52. Though it seemingly doesn't apply to the passage on the "mystery of the world" it might apply to the whole concept and plot of the novel overall (Tomasula 52). Do you think that these outlying words are important?
And another and final question I want to ask because I'm genuinely curious... Who do you think this novel is written for? What is the intended audience for such a strangely put together novel? Is there an intended audience?
It seems to me that the odd phrases you mention on page 52 are related tangentially to the linguistic lineages Tomasula's writing about in the pages before it. The small fonts read to me like they're the connections and thoughts (sometimes intrusive) relating to what Square is thinking or doing - it's like our thoughts often chase rabbits as we read or write, but Tomasula is purposely including them rather than filtering them out, like we are so used to.
ReplyDeleteIt seems to me that the odd phrases you mention on page 52 are related tangentially to the linguistic lineages Tomasula's writing about in the pages before it. The small fonts read to me like they're the connections and thoughts (sometimes intrusive) relating to what Square is thinking or doing - it's like our thoughts often chase rabbits as we read or write, but Tomasula is purposely including them rather than filtering them out, like we are so used to.
ReplyDeleteI think that the novel is certainly an attention-grabber. More so than the other books that we had been assigned in class. I think its eccentricity is certainly a factor in the author's goals for the book. We talked a lot in class about how a lot of events in the story seem to be done "just because," but I certainly think that the overall layout serves a purpose.
ReplyDeleteAs for the target audience, I certainly think that adults who are well-read in the sciences (as well as super smart English majors) are targeted because they will take the time to try to grasp what it is that they're encountering in the book.