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Meaningless Metaphors and Similies
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I agree, Andy. People on merry-go-rounds aren't going anywhere but round and round. He may as well have said they were on a Ferris wheel home. I can appreciate his attempt to link their leaving to the street fair outside, but I would say his analogy was a pretty one with nothing behind it.
And the weird part is that the main character doesn't actually GO to the street fair.
The town is described as being slow and without excitement. And the main character is just loafing around and he sees the street fair:
A street-fair farther down made a brilliant alley of varicolored booths and contributed a blend of music to the night--an oriental dance on a calliope, a melancholy bugle in front of a freak show, a cheerful rendition of 'Back Home Tennessee' on a hand-organ
It seems such an attactive happening to check out, but that's the only mention of it in the whole story. Bizarre. The guy ends up going to a soda fountain instead.
Andy wrote: "I would interpret the post as a unique attempt to shed light on the topic of different opinions; addressing the topic from a "novel" angle."
Andy, thanks! Yes, that's exactly where I was coming from.
Kathryn wrote: "Is this in the topic of ignoring? I give up..."
Kathryn, hi. Sorry. I guess I should have explained more clearly where I was coming from. I forget that the huge time difference due to our different locations and therefore between the times that we post means that I can be coming in at the tail end of a conversation that is winding down. :-(
The merry-go-round works for me. The image I have is of people fully intending to leave and go home, starting towards the exit, drifting back to check out one more display, starting to leave yet again, turning back to check out the sale flyers at the exit. And so one. Or maybe I just have an overactive imagination, and apply meaning where it was not intended.
Theresa
Re the merry-go-round...not having read the book, I'm not sure, but couldn't he mean the basic merry-go-round [cycle:] of Life? Most people get up, go to work, on the way home shop,etc, we repeat the pattern daily.
Re A Hundred Years of Solitude, I have to agree with Review #2, I don't think he was referring to channeling stories as much as there was no cohesive story I couldn't finish it, not even half way actually. After a few times of turning the page and wondering what the devil was going on, and constant backtracking, I gave up.
I had the same experience with Hundred Years, Pontalba. I was just trying to poke fun at how #2 accused the author of "making things up" which is really what fiction authors are supposed to do, or so I thought?
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Books mentioned in this topic
The World Is Flat: A Brief History of the Twenty-First Century (other topics)The Story of Edgar Sawtelle (other topics)
