Hello again, another assignment and time to blog about our first reading. In The Liars Club the author/ narrarator starts off describing to you a vivid memory from her childhood. She describes the doctor, police officer, and firefighters that were there on the night. While she never explains exactly what happens you get a feeling it leaves her and her sister orphaned. I came to this conclusion because of her discussion about and her sister staying with numerous other families and her descriptions of which she would like to stay with and those she wouldn't. Then she told us about her mother who was "nervous", I figured out his to be a polite way of saying crazy. Next the narrorator further described the extent of the term "nervous" when she described her neighbor Mr. Thibodaux. To elaborate on the typical behavior of "nervous" people she told about how he had murdered his entire family then proceeded to light his house on fire. Even though this story is a memoir this to me seems like foreshadowing as to what may have really happened that night she described earlier.
From here the story moves on to describing her father. The main thing they talk about is his good work ethic and his devotion to his labor union. Further more she talked about his relationship with her mother they have been twice married, and he is just two of 7 weddings her mother has had starting as early as when she was 15. It makes you wonder why such a well rounded man would marry a woman with such questionable moral strength, as exemplified by her willingness to marry mostly for sexual purposes. Now while they predominantly show her father in a good light they do hint at some character flaws such as a tendency to chronically lie while telling stories as well as a harsh temper on a short fuse. Even though the book is kind of dry and not easy to read I am curious to find out what happened that night and what becomes of all the characters.
The memoir and the memoirist is a completely different opening than pretty much any other book I have ever read. It almost feels like an informational book more so than a memoir, but he does express a lot of his feeling in the first chapter. Not only about the class he was teaching and the people in it he also talks about his family and some of their relationships. All in all I think there was less interesting material covered in the first chapter compared to The Liars Club. I think this is a much easier read, but leaves less desire to continue reading after you have fulfilled the requirement.
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Andrew,
ReplyDeleteI'm interested in your initial reading of Karr's father as the sympathetic figure. Keep that in mind as you read on. Why would she want us to see him that way at first?
What do you mean by dry? There's nothing explosive here, but there are some mysteries and the descriptions seem really colorful to me, especially when Karr writes that "Daddy was said to have stomped a serious mudhole in Paolo's ass" (13). Glad you're looking forward to reading on. Seek out those humorous spots and descriptions and bring them up in your blog.
Resist summary!
Is Plano in East Texas? Does Karr have a good sense of what Texas is about?
The Memoir and the Memoirist is more of a critical work, as you notice. It's more about writing than the writer's story. Hopefully you'll find some snippets in there that will help with your writing. I like that he thinks our fates are tied up with the fates of our parents and that we need to notice that to do anything about it (7-8).
Press on in both texts. Good work here.
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ReplyDeleteYou did a good job of summarizing what happened in the first chapter of The Liar's Club. I think it was supposed to be more of a reflection than a restating, but you did a good job of throwing in your thoughts while retelling some of the main points. I agree with you that the first chapter of The Liar's Club was somewhat hard to read, but I think that I may turn out to be a really good book!
ReplyDeleteHey Andrew. I noticed too that Mary Karr's parents weren't around at the time of this specific memory. Now that I actually go through the text again, I do realize that their home life wasn't exactly normal. The father has obviously been in trouble with the law, as shown by Mary's irrational fear of the Sheriff.
ReplyDeleteWhat I got from her retelling of those memories of her father was that she idolized him to some extent. Yes he was a bit of a braggart but there were certain qualities that she looked up to. For instance, his ability to tell a story. In those Liar Club meetings that she was privileged to attend, she remained as riveted by his stories as the rest of the people there.
To wrap up this lengthy comment, the Memoir and the Memoirist to me is shedding some light on the processes behind memoirs that weren't really obvious to me before. Maybe you can see the read as that.
i really like what you had to say about The Liar's Club. You brought things to my attention that i didnt really see, but definatly agree on. I think you did summarize a little bit too much, but you had some interesting ideas.
ReplyDeletePersonally, i dont think that they were necessarily orphaned because Karr talks about how from that night on her house was "Not Right" (10) and she also explains that after that night no social workers or concerned neighbors came to her house (9)
I love what you had to say about her father. That is exactly how i felt, but didnt put into words. She made him out to be this great guy, but in the beggining of the story she said "I had a knee-jerk fear of the sheriff based on my father's tendency to get in fights." which doesnt sound like the king she described.
Great work!
One Love!
ReplyDeleteI believe I also summarized the chapter but no worries. I agreed with all of your comments and reflections on the novel especially the one about Mary's Dad! Why would such a great man marry such a lost woman? The only thing I would put into your (reflection) would be quotes from the novel. For example, "She refused his help jacking up the car and proceeded to cuss like a sailor when she couldn't get the lug nut loose." (L.C, 11)