Erin's Blog?

I'm having a hard time getting through the plague. It feels more like a textbook than a novel. The main problem is, it's boring. It goes on tangents about burials or the weather or whether or not people are going to cafes that last so long I started counting the pages. And once those sections finally end, the enjoyment I might feel for the more interesting chapters is dulled by how brain-fried I am by what I just read. When Camus wants to get a point across, he does so by ranting about it for roughly fifteen pages, then, a chapter later, fifteen more on the same subject.  The book jumps from character focused chapters to the mind-numbing "descriptive" chapters, and the former are the book's main redeeming feature. I really like all the characters in the book, even the questionable ones like Cottard and Rambert. They're well-rounded, they bring different perspectives to the narrative, and they're supportive and kind to each other (which seems insignificant ...

 As we've established, as a narrator, Jake doesn't express many emotions. He gives a bland, matter-of-fact description of what's happening around him, and often excludes himself from the picture he paints. As a result, us readers are forced to read between the lines to understand his emotional state, or to wait for the occasional lapse of his stoic demeaner.  My favorite of these lapses is when Jake's opinion on a certain French waiter gets a little too heated, and betrays his so far repressed emotions concerning the events in Spain. In this scene Jake is sitting in a café in France, and over tips a waiter he offended to earn back the man's "friendship." The successful interaction causes him to go on this tangent: "It felt comfortable to be in a country where it is so simple to make people happy. You can never tell whether a Spanish waiter will thank you. Everything is on such a clear financial basis in France. It is the simplest country to live in. N...

I thought it was strange that Jake was so attracted to Brett. Even if she's pretty and has a boat-like figure, they don't seem compatible. Jake is quiet and stoic and rarely speaks his mind, while Brett is fun-loving, out-going and painstakingly honest. Also, Brett isn't the picture of traditional femininity, and I didn't expect someone as insecure as Jake to feel comfortable being attracted to a woman with masculine traits, both physically and personality-wise. Despite all this, he's completely in love with her, and I think it's because Brett represents qualities Jake himself lacks. Brett is honest. She admits that she'd cheat on Jake if they were together, that she's with the count because of money, and that the ugly hat she's wearing was a gift from a random man at the bar. All of those confessions seemed easy for her. A more descriptive word than honest might be unashamed. Meanwhile, Jake won't even admit that he cares about his injury, which...

When Sally arrived at the party I was super excited to see what Clarissa and her would talk about. And from Clarissa's reaction it seemed like yes, that was true, she was excited to see her old friend again and wanted to have that conversation. But instead she tells her to wait there, and goes to make small talk with people who should be less important to her. Sally goes and sits with Peter, and for the rest of the evening she ignores both of them. This seemed strange at first. However, when I thought about it, it makes perfect sense that Clarissa would prioritize the party. She essentially already made that choice when she married Richard, and her decision to tend to the other guests before them mirrors the crossroads she was at, and affirms her confidence in her selection. I saw that as a way telling them that yes, she was the perfect hostess, which meant they had to wait his turn. She had made this life for herself, she was satisfied with it, and was she good at what she did. Bu...

 The first time we hear about Peter Walsh is when Clarissa Dalloway recalls him saying, "Musing among the vegetables?" This first impression we get of Peter is that he likes to pick apart Clarissa's behavior. While she also remembers "his eyes, his pocket-knife, his smile, his grumpiness," it's the criticism that comes to her first. As we learn more about Peter, it becomes clear that that wasn't an isolated event. Everything seems to remind her of Peter, and many of the memories aren't positive. When Clarissa meets Hugh, she recalls that Peter "had never to this day forgiven her for liking him." While she's enjoying the city, she contemplates her and Peter's differing definitions of beauty. And most significantly, as she prepares for her party, she hears Peter's voice in her head, calling her "the perfect hostess." When he shows up at her house in the middle of party preparations, this insult returns to her again, and ...

For me, the most interesting part of the Mezzanine was what Howie decided was interesting and important. I think the best example of his unique thought process is his list on page 16, which describes the eight "major advancements" of his life. (The fact that he was capable of making a list like that in the first place was impressive, in my opinion. I wasn't able to think of my own list, which was weirdly frustrating. Everything I could think of was sketchy and abstract, and as soon as I came up with something I'd change my mind almost immediately.) All but the eighth item on Howie's list is routine or maintenance related. He puts a lot of value on these skills that allow him to move through his world a little more smoothly, which I can understand, because he seems better than most people at detecting roughness. The entirety of the Mezzanine shows how interesting (and upsetting) Howie can find tiny details most people would never think about twice. So, it makes sen...