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Katherine Paterson
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From: linnea hendrickson <lhendr>
Date: Sat, 21 Aug 1999 22:50:26 -0600
I am curious about Melody's statement that Park's Quest made her angry. Could you expand on that Melody? I've just finished the book, and found it very moving. I did have a hard time understanding Randy, Park's mother, and her refusal to tell him anything. I was reminded of at least two other Paterson books, Jip, in which a child (and the reader) is also in mystery over the child's father, and Gilly Hopkins, where the puzzle concerns the child's mother. I suspect that in each of these books the reader, at least the adult reader, guesses what the child doesn't know, and this creates a wonderful tension -- we as readers want the child character to catch on to what we already realize.
I was also interested in the use of the Grail legend in Park's Quest. This seems to be an interest that Paterson more recently expanded on in Parzival
When I finished the book the epigraphs in the front, to which I turned back, seemed especially moving, particularly the one from Sutcliff, "We shall come together again," said Lancelot, trying to console him. "Some of us," said the King. "But it will not be the same; never the same again...." This seemed to be very much what is taking place in the final scene when Park and his grandfather finally embrace and all three drink the water that Thanh brings.
Another aspect of the book that struck me strongly was the way so much is implied but not spoken outright, especially concerning the underlying prejudices of the various characters. Obviously deep-seated prejudices and stereotypes are at work, but Paterson never brings them into the foreground or addresses them explicitly. She is putting a tremendous amount of trust in the reader to figure things out for him or herself. There are "gaps" in the book that perhaps make it a stronger work of literature. Has anyone discussed these elements with students or children?
Linnea
Linnea Hendrickson Lhendr at unm.edu http://www.unm.edu/~lhendr
Received on Sat 21 Aug 1999 11:50:26 PM CDT
Date: Sat, 21 Aug 1999 22:50:26 -0600
I am curious about Melody's statement that Park's Quest made her angry. Could you expand on that Melody? I've just finished the book, and found it very moving. I did have a hard time understanding Randy, Park's mother, and her refusal to tell him anything. I was reminded of at least two other Paterson books, Jip, in which a child (and the reader) is also in mystery over the child's father, and Gilly Hopkins, where the puzzle concerns the child's mother. I suspect that in each of these books the reader, at least the adult reader, guesses what the child doesn't know, and this creates a wonderful tension -- we as readers want the child character to catch on to what we already realize.
I was also interested in the use of the Grail legend in Park's Quest. This seems to be an interest that Paterson more recently expanded on in Parzival
When I finished the book the epigraphs in the front, to which I turned back, seemed especially moving, particularly the one from Sutcliff, "We shall come together again," said Lancelot, trying to console him. "Some of us," said the King. "But it will not be the same; never the same again...." This seemed to be very much what is taking place in the final scene when Park and his grandfather finally embrace and all three drink the water that Thanh brings.
Another aspect of the book that struck me strongly was the way so much is implied but not spoken outright, especially concerning the underlying prejudices of the various characters. Obviously deep-seated prejudices and stereotypes are at work, but Paterson never brings them into the foreground or addresses them explicitly. She is putting a tremendous amount of trust in the reader to figure things out for him or herself. There are "gaps" in the book that perhaps make it a stronger work of literature. Has anyone discussed these elements with students or children?
Linnea
Linnea Hendrickson Lhendr at unm.edu http://www.unm.edu/~lhendr
Received on Sat 21 Aug 1999 11:50:26 PM CDT
