Chapter 13: "Pure Language"

[Patrick]

This chapter seems like a classic "love it or hate it" kind of chapter. Did Egan present a believable vision of the future? I think the idea of "parrots" in social media is pretty real and happening. I read recently about people who are paid to game the site Yelp, and it reminded me a bit of this chapter.

What did you think of the idea of "word casings?" I have a friend who thinks that Egan was hanging onto this idea for years, just waiting to put it into a book, and for that reason, it rang false to her. How did you feel about them? And did it make sense to have this as the last chapter of the book? Was the ending satisfying to you as a reader?

[Heather]

I thought the end was satisfying and somewhat believable. Who knows what it will be like in the future of social media. Seems like anything is possible and probably things we couldn't even imagine right now. I can't even remember what the "word casings" were and I no longer have a copy of the book. :-) I think I liked how this chapter wrapped up and tied together the theme of time and time being the "goon." I enjoyed Benny's conversation with Scotty before the concert and how desperate they both felt. That all felt very believable given where they had been and what had happened in their lives.

[Blair]

I will admit, there were things I didn't like about this chapter and I struggled with it at the beginning. I very rarely read books that envision the future, and I enjoy them even less often. I just wasn't sure about the whole 'handset' thing, and very young children using them, and the term 'pointers'... I don't know. I'm not saying it isn't conceivable that things might develop that way, and certainly some of the social media-related elements were believable, but in other ways they were too familiar, too like what we know today. Like people's 'profiles/pages' sounded too obviously like Facebook, and I just think there would be a name for whatever the latest social media craze and newest device actually was, it wouldn't just be 'page' and 'handset'. I know this isn't that important in the grand scheme of things but I did find that it distracted me from the actual story. A couple of times, I realised I'd ignored what was happening because of the technology stuff, and had to go back and read the dialogue to absorb it properly.

I'm really disappointed that we didn't get to meet Sasha again, hear her voice or see her thoughts directly, before the end of the story. However, I thought the last few pages were beautiful - very moving and haunting, with the sense that the story, or the same sort of story, was beginning all over again. Both sad and hopeful. Many of the things I thought would be significant didn't turn out to be of any consequence at all, and in other ways there were coincidences I hadn't expected, such as Lulu becoming Bennie's assistant and Alex's re-encounter with Bennie having nothing directly to do with Sasha. Altogether, there was so much more that could have been written about all of the characters we've encountered - I'd love Egan to write more about some of them - but I knew the story couldn't go on forever and I was satisfied with how it was wrapped up.

[ShannLeigh]

It took me a bit to figure out who Alex was. I appreciated that he began and ended the story. I was surprised, a bit, to see his connection with Bennie.

After reading the chapter, I think I like Bennie less and Alex more. I suppose Bennie was believable as an aging producer. Alex was very dynamic in this chapter and I really liked his connection with his daughter.

The technology in this chapter was believable, I thought, albeit strange at first. I kind of liked the whole T thing and REALLY liked that the parents wanted to keep the technology away from their children.

It was a satisfying end to the book and, in the end, a great book overall.

[Brandon]

One of the things that surprised me with this chapter was how well Egan was able to integrate the futuristic elements into the story. I've read many books that take place in the future, and sometimes it just feels forced. It's like the author just wants to toss these ideas at you as if saying, "Wouldn't this be cool?" Or, more often, it's a way for the author to remind you that this isn't the present.

With Egan, it feels almost effortless. Nearly every element of the future that is mentioned is relevant. She doesn't bring up changes to social media purely in an attempt to prognosticate how things are going, but because it is tied into Alex's work. "Pointers", if they are an admonishment of how quickly children are plugged in to technology, is done subtly and more as an examination of Alex's parenting methods.

Maybe this isn't the sort of thing I should be focusing on for this chapter, but I really liked how the time period was used more as a backdrop to define the characters and their actions rather than existing as some dire warning or ironic foretelling.

[Jessica]

This was my second favorite chapter. I just loved how Egan connected the characters from the first chapter to the characters in the last chapter. Her character connections flowed real easily for me.

[Carol]

This chapter has been so thought provoking for me. I think the parrots and pointers are already on the rise. Sitting across a table from someone and choosing to text—I’m afraid that’s not too far in the future for some of us. I loved that the young have decided to forgo tattooing etc. after seeing generations with body art grow old. The way Bernie behaved: towards his young child, towards Alex, at the concert—all seemed consistent with the rest of his story.
What a great end to a great book!

[Katya]

The ridiculous T language? I wouldn't be surprised, it's already happening now with all the lols, and bffs, and fyi... I only wondered what's with the occasional capital letters in the middle of the word, e.g. "no mOr". It was funny how Alex thought nyc meant "nice", not "New York City", reminds me of many times I had to look up the meaning of the acronyms used by others.

Also, the way security gets tightened more with every year (airports, schools, government buildings), I wouldn't be surprised by a "constant noise of choppers above" in a few years.

But "friend" and "real" becoming "word casings" - that's a bit scary...

[Carol]

Along those lines. I kept wondering why people were using the symbol for less than and the number three. I guess it is a heart on its side <3=love? It's embarassing not to know.

[Lindsay]

Katya wrote: "The ridiculous T language? I wouldn't be surprised, it's already happening now with all the lols, and bffs, and fyi... I only wondered what's with the occasional capital letters in the middle of th..."

Katya, I think the capital letters in the T language were meant to be long vowels/consonants, for example the word great was T'ed: grAt, so that you are supposed to say the letter 'A' when you read it (gr-A-t) Hope I explained that right :)

[Lindsay]

I did not like the ending. What were the two men so obsessed with Sasha all of a sudden. I felt like that came out of nowhere and it didn't make sense. Was that supposed to tie together the beginning (Alex), middle (Bennie), and end all together, b/c I didn't get that. I didn't like this ending, I saw no cohesion from the other chapters in the end.

[Carol]

I thought it was natural for the two men to feel nostalgia for their past--when life was more authentic, when at least they were younger. It also showed the power of memory.
The book shows characters through time and space--past, present, future. That's the contents of our mind, how we really experience the story and the world.

[Patrick]

I think the parrot thing is pretty spot on, actually. Isn't this more or less what Ad.ly does? http://adly.com/

[Carol]

Patrick wrote: "I think the parrot thing is pretty spot on, actually. Isn't this more or less what Ad.ly does? http://adly.com/"

Yes, indeed!

[Andre]

Nobody told me this was a science fiction book! I think the vision of the future is pretty well thought out. But handset? Do we really think we will use the term handset to mean anything other than the term we used to call phones back when they had cords? Its tough to name things in a future vision, but I think handset is pretty limiting.

I enjoyed most of the chapter but didn't feel like it really wrapped things up well enough. Where there was resolution, it felt a little forced. Egan is stepping out into a very creative story-telling method by using all of these different mediums to put together a collage of a story, but in the end it doesn't feel like a complete novel to me. I partially fault myself for this as it was a difficult audio book to follow. Perhaps it comes across better in print.

I feel like Egan needed either a few less characters, or a few more chapters.

[Saleem]

the many charecters is the only reason I got confused and ended giving it 4 but you know what amid the many rubbish stuff i read lately this was kinda artistic!

[Wendy]

As much as I loved this entire book, I really hated this chapter. It took me the longest to read, because I couldn't get into Alex, maybe because it was the last chapter and I knew he wouldn't be going any further with me?

I really didn't like Egan's vision of the future, it seemed so bleak and impersonal. The "handsets" almost sounded like a government-issued device or something. But after contemplating it a few days, I think I was so upset by it because in the back of my mind, I could see things like parrots and choppers as plausible, perhaps inevitable. Which was depressing.

I really wanted Sasha to show up at the end, I wanted to hear her voice. But I thought it was poignant how Egan tied the reason for Sasha stealing Alex's piece of paper (her realization that she would become a vague memory to him) with Alex's compulsion to look up Bennie (because he had a vague memory of some girl-Sasha- talking about Bennie.) For some reason, when a relationship ends for me, I assume the other person forgets about me, even though I occasionally think of them. Those scenes made me wonder if the long-lost loves of my past might be driving past my old college apartment, wondering where I am now, hoping to catch a glimpse of me.

All in all, I wish Egan would have ended the book differently. I thought that making Lulu so T-savvy and not vocally conversational pushed my disbelief. On the other hand, sometimes, it is just easier to text, get the relevant information, and move on. Still, though, it seemed forced and not believable.

As a whole, I loved the book. Maybe if this chapter had come before the Powerpoint, I'd have been happier.

[Saleem]

Alex and this chapter were the problem, other wise i really liked it. and second sash

[Shaun]

I loved the book, but I wasn't too keen on the ending. The chapter was well written, but some of the predictions for the future were unrealistic.

Young kids purchasing songs, rejuvenating the music industry, and songs being solely released to appeal to kids was crazy. But I suspect it was more to do with the theme of rebirth -- the rebirth of the music industry through the birth of a new generation. In that sense, it tied in nicely to the overall way Egan wrote about time itself.

The ending between Alex and Bennie was very sweet, though, and a nice way to end the novel.

[Sam Still Reading]

I didn't like the way the future was portrayed, but I can see it happening - where we can't communicate face to face, but need to do it through T or similar. (Lulu's blush demonstrated that well). It was closed well.

[Allison]

Some of the future technology and lingo (Ting/pointers,etc) was a little weird, but I also wonder if it's possible that it won't be that far off. I liked the last chapter though- the whole rebirth thing, and I liked seeing Scotty again.

I really liked the very ending with Bennie and Alex, and seeing the girl fiddling with her keys. Perfect.

[Sara]

Patrick, thank you for being such a good moderator!
I thought the book was a waste of time. I didn't benefit from it in any way. That being said-those are often the best books for a book club to read because if everyone likes a book, there is nothing to discuss.

[Allison]

Katya wrote: "The ridiculous T language? I wouldn't be surprised, it's already happening now with all the lols, and bffs, and fyi... I only wondered what's with the occasional capital letters in the middle of th..."

The capital letters indicate a long vowel sound instead of a short vowel so you can shorten needs to nEds in this way.

[Sharon]

From research "word casings" are words that no longer have a meaning outside quotation marks? We have to seek the real amid the artificial while dealing with the effects of "the passage of time" I like the way it ends as Bennie and Alex hear the girl open the door of Sasha's old apt. were hearing the sound of a time passed.

[Sandra]

Didn't like this chapter, and it ended the book on a bad note for me. The portrayal of the future seemed unoriginal - like something out of a Wired magazine article. I agree with Lindsay that the characters' obsession with Sasha didn't make sense and seemed like a desperate attempt to create cohesion. Alex is a narrative device, not a convincing character.

Unfortunately, despite some clever and entertaining writing, I don't think this novel has anything profound to say.

[Christie]

I thought that it was a good ending of the book. I like how Alex was just in the beginning and end and really did not have a spot in the middle of the book. It made him important without stepping on Bennie and Sasha's toes. I also liked that Bennie went to Scotty when he fell on hard times and that they were able to help each other at the end.

This book was defiantly not what I expected but not a bad read either.

[Paige]

I was disappointed with this ending. Although I did like Alex better in this chapter than I did in the first chapter. But I had hoped the book would end with everything tied up with a bow and everybody going to the seashore.
All in all I am glad I read this book- but for the most part I did not like it.
I hope our next book is a better read.

[Cristina]

Yeah I didn't really like this chapter very much, it just seemed like another paranoid vision of the future. The only part I liked was Alex and Rebecca's view on technology in realtion to children. I mean how bad is it that a little 3 year old could easily have access to adult content?

[Caroline]

I really enjoyed this book, but this was definitely one of my least favorite chapters. I wasn't a fan of the character Alex, I was having trouble relating to him.
Although, and I did appreciate the complete circle.
I was wondering if anyone else realized Lulu's boyfriend was the son of the man Mindy (Lu's third wife) had a thing with in Africa? That made me giggle, and I loved bringing back Lulu all in all, it was nice to see her story completed.
My favorite part of this chapter was definitely Bennie and Scotty's talk in the trailer. "Life's a goon"

[Emma]

Yeah, not so sure about this chapter either. I liked the Powerpoint one a lot, and then this kind of cold ending. But how do you end this kind of book? It's all about the circle of time continuing to turn, so any ending is an anticlimax.

[Deborah]

Erm, this chapter bored me. Even though I really wanted to know what had happened to several characters. Also, there were just SO MANY characters, & their voices were largely so similar, that by now I wasn't able to tell them apart. Sooooo.... the book got a 4 instead of a 5. ;)

[Lisa]

YAY Scotty!! I'm so happy that things worked out so well for him. It was good to see Alex again and funny how he's quickly aging - watch out Alex for that time goon... Bennie landed on his feet with no sign of his magic gold flakes. Gee, they must've worked, huh? LOL Starting fresh with a new family. Hope he treats this one better. Makes me feel for Steph and Chris and I wanted to know what became of them. Did I miss it? I only read that Chris was 2 years older than Lulu.

This chapter didn't feel that far into the future, tech wise. Maybe just a few years down the road. We already see kids and young adults that are more comfortable texting than talking in person. Lulu and Alex found that "exhausting" and reverted back to T'ing which made me laugh. Parroting - yep, it's being done now. Now, word casing confused me and I don't think I quite understand it.

As for Sasha showing up - I half expected it but glad that she didn't. She has a new life out in the desert away from all that fast living. It sounds like her kleptomania is cured and going back to NYC and being around the old gang could be bad for her. But I loved how Alex gradually remembered her and how he and Bennie went to her old apartment, hoping to see her. How did Alex know that she fingered his wallet? In ch 1, Sasha replaced his wallet, only missing that scrap of paper I BELIEVE IN YOU. Did he miss it? Well, not important.

Another thing I got a kick out of is how Alex and Rebecca are trying to protect Cara-Ann from getting "plugged in" with the handsets and all. But then Alex caved and Cara-Ann took to the handset like fish to water. Give her time and she can give her parents some pointers! Pun not intended but is cracking me up anyway :D

[Dave]

I thought this was one of the weaker chapters in the book, though like every chapter, some things worked well and others didn't. As usual, it was the emotional poignancy that was valuable: the again demonstrated cyclical nature of human life, and the sometimes subtle, sometimes devastating ravages of time. What I found corny and distracting were the unnecessary changes to current jargon that Egan inserted into her vision of the future. Why would the one-syllable 'T' replace the also one-syllable 'text?' Why would a completely new texting language emerge, using uppercase letters to indicate pronunciation, when today's youth have already created an equally inventive shorthand?

[Elizabeth]

Caroline wrote: "I really enjoyed this book, but this was definitely one of my least favorite chapters. I wasn't a fan of the character Alex, I was having trouble relating to him.
Although, and I did appreciate th..."

No, I'm pretty sure Lulu's boyfriend (husband at this point?) is the grandson of the warrior Charlie was admiring on safari in Chapter 4.

[Maggie]

Did we ever find out who Lulu's father is? I kept thinking that Egan was making sly allusions to another character, but I couldn't quite make the connection -- if there was one.

[Maureen]

This was my least favorite chapter. First I was pissed that it had a science fiction-y feel to it and that I couldn't figure out who the characters were.

Ultimately though, I found it to be pretty satisfying. I wished Lulu's character was more fleshed out.

I really liked that the kids of the future are un-tattooed and un-peirced and don't curse, as a sort of rebellion towards the punk rock generations that came before.

I think the biggest problem was that the chapter is set only 20 yrs after 9/11, putting it only 10 years in the future from now...It felt too futuristic for only 10 years. But as I'm writing this I'm recalling the comment that Sasha makes to Bennie earlier in the book about 5 years might as well be 50 in the music industry (not sure abt the numbers for an exact quote). And the futuristic feel of the chapter sort of re-affirms that point of view to me, so its sort of a social commentary.