I’ve realized…
a little something about my reading style while participating in this project. Some have countless lightbulb moments while they are reading a novel as rich and layered as this one. But I spend most of my time wrapping my head around the ideas, reading the book in chunks and then coming back and commenting en masse. In a way, it slightly betrays the “blogging” aspect of this website, which is supposedly tracking our thoughts about the book as they come. My insights stew for a couple of days, until there are 30 pages in GN that need my attention.
I’m sure it’s different, as well, for people who have read the book once and have had a chance to see the entire arc of the story. I’m still trying to absorb the rhythm and pace of the book, and to get to know the characters. Anna is continuously surprising me, which is why I now feel like I commented on her prematurely. But that in itself can add to the project–if we are able to track each other’s changing expectations and interpretations.
One last note: I’ve discovered that I’m pre-programmed to focus on all of Lessing’s twists and turns having to do with gender and feminism, which is starting to annoy me. I know there are other clear themes, and I knew when I started, but somehow I’m more attuned to the issues I’m most “expected” to notice. I’m sure I’ll get past it–in fact I’m deliberately trying to–but it seems to be a product of the way this project has been framed; that is, seven women getting together to discuss a book written by a woman. I think it’s important for all of us to think outside the “women writers” box.
Nona Willis Aronowitz
on November 16th, 2008 at 6:01 pm