For starters, I just have to put out there that I think Native Speaker is my favorite novel so far this semester. Chang-Rae Lee writes in a more modern way than the long drawn out language and description of Madame Bovary but not so crazy as Myra Breckinridge. I think there’s a level of intrigue that interests me from the opening of the novel with the introduction of the “list” and how his wife has left him. Although I say it isn’t as crazy as Myra Breckinridge, it certainly has its elements that seem really bizzarre, such as the way in which their child Mitt dies.
One thing that is confusing to me that I hope to get a better grasp on is Henry’s job. The idea one of the core ideas in the groups discription is that they use manipulation is certainly an intriguing characteristic that leads me to want to unconver more. The way in which Lee writes about so many topics within such a short number of pages, such as the relationship between Lelia and Henry, Mitt’s death, Henry’s parents, the housemaid, Dr. Luzan, Henry’s job, etc, shows how jumpy the novel is but the wide range of events it covers. This is something that can be very frustrating while reading because just when I feel like I’m starting to understand something, the subject area changes again.
Overall, I’m very interested in the novel thus far. I look forward to reading the rest to see how things tie together and most importantly how the list plays out if/when Lelia comes back.
“Native Speaker” is a different type of novel that we have read this semester thus far and it is one of my favorites as well. I agree that it has elements that are just as bizarre as “Myra Brekinridge” and the themes seem to jump all over the place during the course of the story.
Comment by kmills923 — March 26, 2009 @ 3:15 pm