Robbie's comments
(member since Nov 22, 2007)
Robbie's comments from the The Rory Gilmore Book Club group.
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I didn't mean to suggest I don't want to hear who liked and didn't like the book! Of course that's where most discussions should start. I just wanted us to move beyond that. Or at least everybody else move beyond that, so I can live vicariously through you, since I don't remember the book well enough to contribute much [embarrassed smiley here:]
STOLEN DISCUSSION QUESTIONS--POSSIBLE SPOILERS
1. Julián Carax's and Daniel's lives follow very similar trajectories. Yet one ends in tragedy, the other in happiness. What similarities are there between the paths they take? What are the differences that allow Daniel to avoid tragedy?
2. Nuria Monfort tells Daniel, "Julián once wrote that coincidences are the scars of fate. There are no coincidences, Daniel. We are the puppets of our unconscious." What does that mean? What does she refer to in her own experience and in Julián's life?
3. Nuria Monfort's dying words, meant for Julián, are, "There are worse prisons than words." What does she mean by this? What is she referring to?
4. There are many devil figures in the story --- Carax's Laín Coubert, Jacinta's Zacarias, Fermín's Fumero. How does evil manifest itself in each devil figure? What are the characteristics of the villains/devils?
5. Discuss the title of the novel. What is "The Shadow of the Wind"? Where does Zafón refer to it and what does he use the image to illustrate?
6. Zafón's female characters are often enigmatic, otherworldly angels full of power and mystery. Clara the blind white goddess ultimately becomes a fallen angel; Carax credits sweet Bea with saving his and Daniel's lives; Daniel's mother is actually an angel whose death renders her so ephemeral that Daniel can't even remember her face. Do you think Zafón paints his female characters differently than his male characters? What do the women represent in Daniel's life? What might the Freud loving Miquel Moliner say about Daniel's relationships with women?
7. Daniel says of The Shadow of the Wind, "As it unfolded, the structure of the story began to remind me of one of those Russian dolls that contain innumerable ever-smaller dolls within" (p. 7). Zafón's The Shadow of the Wind unfolds much the same way, with many characters contributing fragments of their own stories in the first person point of view. What does Zafón illustrate with this method of storytelling? What do the individual mini-autobiographies contribute to the tale?
8. The evil Fumero is the only son of a ridiculed father and a superficial, status-seeking mother. The troubled Julián is the bastard son of a love-starved musical mother and an amorous, amoral businessman, though he was raised by a cuckolded hatmaker. Do you think their personalities are products of nature or nurture? How are the sins of the fathers and mothers visited upon each of the characters?
Here's a link that contains an interview with the author:
http://us.penguingroup.com/static/rguide...
I enjoy discussions that move beyond the enjoyment of a book or lack thereof. I can think of some books I didn't like all that much but then loved discussing some of the issues they addressed.
What issues do you think this author was trying to raise in SOTW? What do you think his worldview is? What was motivating the different characters? What did you like most/least about some of the characters? If you didn't care about any of them, what might have made you care more? What was the library of lost books symbolizing? How or why is the old house important to the story--or isn't it?
I must have enjoyed the book, because I gave it a 4--high praise from me. That being said, I don't remember much. I think it was because he did a good job of taking me to another place and helping me escape. There was also suspense and some sense of resolution at the end. I don't recall so much genre-switching like in TAG
Dini wrote: "Does anyone else's copy of the book have the tour of the locations in Barcelona at the back? It's pretty cool."
I think my has it. I read this quite a while ago, but I remember thinking it would be cool to use the guide.
Lori: another great thing about reading A Christmas Carol is that it will help you appreciate all of the different movie versions even more. I'm especially fond of the Muppet version!
I think I've said this in this or a similar thread--Max gave me the Heebie-Jeebies. Not sure why, he just did. Of the three, I'm a Luke gal.
Christmas Carol is very accessible. I'd start there if I were you.
And she used that unfortunate strategy of getting pregnant again (yes, hubby's fault, too) in effort to save her marriage. Did she do that, too, when she was the "other woman"?
Oh, and I nearly cried at the end, too.
Don't get me wrong, I didn't feel *that* sorry for the mother.
Her husband just treated her terribly, and she spent a lot of time trying to please him. We saw her vulnerable when Nanny was helping her decide what to wear for Valentine's Day. After that, the mother was clearly depressed--staying in her room, etc--for quite a while.
But, as for her mothering skills--yup, horrible!
Somehow, can't remember exactly, I got the impression that the mom in this book was seen to be a little lower than her husband in social class, hence her making such efforts to do the "right" thing in terms of gifts, wearing the right clothes, etc. We did see the other family (sorry, can't think of their names) that were also very wealthy, but were more involved with their children, actually able to dress casually to their barbeque, etc.
I confess there were times I felt sorry for the mother. Although I think her priorities were difinitely off, it sure did seem like she was trying to work hard to do what she felt was a good job at the things she did. And trying to meet her MIL's standards, to boot. Didn't feel at all sorry for the dad!
Well, I thought a lot of the book was sad/depressing, too. I suppose there is a little bit of romance, but
SPOILER
It doesn't really end up going anywhere. I suppose that's supposed to add to the realism, but I so enjoy happily ever after ;)
1. Lottery
2. Metamorphosis
SPOILERS
I was sort of expecting this to be funny. I didn't think it was. It was at times sweet, at times sad (I confess I almost cried at the end), and at times maddening. But rarely funny.
I liked that the author made the bad mother have a little bit of dimension.
Nanny did some really stupid things (drinking at the Halloween party), that would make even reasonable parents angry. I was surprised she wasn't called on that. I really had a hard time completely sympathizing with Nanny because of her stupidness. I did remind myself a few times, though, that she was only in her mid-20's and not a parent.
I finished the book this weekend. It was a quick read.
Yeah, not so many scary ones left :)
The Rory Gilmore Book Club
