James (the novel)--



UP, and it's a damp morning. I hope the weather clears. 

I finished James yesterday, and I'm still contemplating what the text is telling me. I'm interested in how it does/does not dovetail to the Mark Twain classic. The character of Jim is fleshed out, with real concerns, family, fears, hopes, etc. The dichotomy presented by the dual diction in the enslaved characters is interesting to me (academically), but I'm not sure how the narrative is served by it, except as a puzzlement for the few white characters who overhear the enslaved people speaking "normally." I suspect that, as a device, it is useful in telling what the heart of the text is: people see what they assume they will see, and this, in turn, can be useful as a mask or shield. 

Anyhow, it was a pretty quick read, and it was interesting. It didn't grip me the way a lot of the reviewers spoke about, though-- that may be just a matter of preference, but maybe it's because I was spending brain time trying to figure out how the author was using the device of dual diction to explore the complex relationship between the main character and perception of the character, in order to make a larger comment about the damage of racial stereotyping. (There, that's one of those APSI tricks-- how to frame the complexity statement for the essay). 

See? school-ish stuff still percolating. 

I'm going to read another recommended book next, titled Gather. It's a young adult fiction novel written by a Vermont teacher, and it received all sorts of awards and stuff. We'll see how it goes. I hope quickly; it's not something I necessarily want to read, but it was highly spoken of, and maybe we should be adding it to our bookshelves. (Ah, more school stuff.)

If you are not busy and you are in the area, join me at The Frost Place for music and poetry at 3pm today!

Have a good day,

C

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