Kavalier and Clay, Parts V and VI (Jan 2018)

[Casceil]

This thread is for discussion of Part V, Radioman, and Part VI, the League of the Golden Key

[Peter]

Part VI is sweet (and maybe a little sad) and is, I think, a fine ending. (I don't mind the ambiguity.)

Part V is a bit ... strange. Almost like an episode from a comic book, except turning out like such things might turn out in real life, with unfortunate consequences and regret. I do think it works, and the book would be substantially different without it. But still strange.

[Casceil]

Part V is full of irony. Joe joins the Navy to fight Germans and is sent to Antarctica--not exactly the front lines. Most nights he sleeps with the dogs, because he is usually the loser in some game the guys in his unit play, a game he does not understand. But being the loser and sleeping with the dogs saves his life when their base fills with carbon monoxide. He locates one German in Antarctica, a scientist, not even a soldier, so Joe and the only other survivor set out to kill that lone German. When Joe finally gets to him, he no longer wants to kill him, but he kills him accidentally and then feels terrible about it. Part V is a very different tone than the rest of the book.

[David]

This section really caught me by surprise, too .... I guess one very picturesque way to convey the despair in Joe's life over the loss of his brother is to place him in Antarctica; I can't imagine a more bleak, all-is-lost feeling place. And then there's the bundle of unread letters, almost as though they were in a block of ice themselves, and unreachable. I'm probably stretching the symbolism too far, but it was indeed a quite different section.

[Casceil]

At least Joe finally read the letters. Maybe it took being cut off from the world to get him to.

[David]

Good point! I was really glad that he did.

[Peter]

I think it had something to do with the likelihood of dying -- Joe didn't feel right going off and leaving the letters unread, possibly never to return.

[Sarah]

David wrote: "This section really caught me by surprise, too .... I guess one very picturesque way to convey the despair in Joe's life over the loss of his brother is to place him in Antarctica; I can't imagine ..."

Your symbol analysis, e.g. bundle of letters/block of ice, helps me persevere in reading a section of the book that is uncomfortable for me. Keep stretching!

[David]

Glad it was helpful, Sarah ..... that was a tougher section for me as well (because of my soft spot for animals, among other reasons); you'll be glad you persevered!

[Patrick]

Casceil wrote: "At least Joe finally read the letters. Maybe it took being cut off from the world to get him to."

Chapter V is interesting. I kinda viewed this being Joe's liberation, possibly mirroring survival in the last days of the concentration camps for the Jewish people and subsequent recuperation through the end of the war.

[Casceil]

Patrick, I think that is a good way to look at it. This was rock bottom for Joe, and he started slowly rebuilding from there.

[Marc]

Sort of reminded me of that line his first mentor taught him about being a lot more careful about what you're escaping to vs. what you're escaping from!