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Reading and Rereading Cormier
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From: Linnea Hendrickson <lhendr>
Date: Thu, 09 Aug 2001 21:51:18 -0600
One of the amazing things about Cormier's work is that you really get at least two books for the price of one. When you read the book the first time, it is one story, but when you read a second time (now knowing the ending) you are reading a very different book. In fact I have found that upon rereading I see clues I've overlooked because they portended an ending that I didn't want to happen.
I agree that the books are painful, but I like them better the second time around. One reason I don't want to see the bad things coming is that Cormier makes me care so much about the characters -- more than I usually do. I feel so sad for Adam Farmer in "I Am the Cheese." I wish I could be there to help him. I want to talk to him. Sometimes I'd like to give him a hug -- it would be all I could do. I wouldn't know how to solve his problems.
I also find my feelings change while reading the books. They can range from anger to acceptance and even love for characters who try so hard and have so much to accept. Somehow, they speak to the human condition. This may be why Cormier's books offer hope in their bleakness.
The experience is like having someone die. When the worst thing that can possibly happen has happened, and you manage to cope with the unthinkable and the unbearable, somehow the very fact that you are surviving gives you hope and strength.
The book that stopped me cold was Fade. I don't think I've ever been so shocked by a book before. I was totally enthralled by the story of Paul Moreaux and absolutely could not believe it when his story ended in the middle of the book! I found myself engaged in all kinds of thinking about whether someone could really fade, and debating with myself what was true and what wasn't, trying make sense of it all, and finally telling myself to calm down, that the whole thing was "just a story." But, I didn't really want to believe that.
I thought "The Bumblebee Flies Anyway" was awfully bleak when I read it the first time, but when I reread it, I felt such affection for the characters, and such admiration for their spirit, their perseverance, even their triumph in the face of death. It is that facing up to the worst, to the pain and bleakness of life, and greeting it with laughter, humor, and love that makes Cormier's work hopeful.
What a wonderful legacy he has left us.
-Linnea
Linnea Hendrickson Albuquerque, NM Lhendr at unm.edu http://www.unm.edu/~lhendr
Received on Thu 09 Aug 2001 10:51:18 PM CDT
Date: Thu, 09 Aug 2001 21:51:18 -0600
One of the amazing things about Cormier's work is that you really get at least two books for the price of one. When you read the book the first time, it is one story, but when you read a second time (now knowing the ending) you are reading a very different book. In fact I have found that upon rereading I see clues I've overlooked because they portended an ending that I didn't want to happen.
I agree that the books are painful, but I like them better the second time around. One reason I don't want to see the bad things coming is that Cormier makes me care so much about the characters -- more than I usually do. I feel so sad for Adam Farmer in "I Am the Cheese." I wish I could be there to help him. I want to talk to him. Sometimes I'd like to give him a hug -- it would be all I could do. I wouldn't know how to solve his problems.
I also find my feelings change while reading the books. They can range from anger to acceptance and even love for characters who try so hard and have so much to accept. Somehow, they speak to the human condition. This may be why Cormier's books offer hope in their bleakness.
The experience is like having someone die. When the worst thing that can possibly happen has happened, and you manage to cope with the unthinkable and the unbearable, somehow the very fact that you are surviving gives you hope and strength.
The book that stopped me cold was Fade. I don't think I've ever been so shocked by a book before. I was totally enthralled by the story of Paul Moreaux and absolutely could not believe it when his story ended in the middle of the book! I found myself engaged in all kinds of thinking about whether someone could really fade, and debating with myself what was true and what wasn't, trying make sense of it all, and finally telling myself to calm down, that the whole thing was "just a story." But, I didn't really want to believe that.
I thought "The Bumblebee Flies Anyway" was awfully bleak when I read it the first time, but when I reread it, I felt such affection for the characters, and such admiration for their spirit, their perseverance, even their triumph in the face of death. It is that facing up to the worst, to the pain and bleakness of life, and greeting it with laughter, humor, and love that makes Cormier's work hopeful.
What a wonderful legacy he has left us.
-Linnea
Linnea Hendrickson Albuquerque, NM Lhendr at unm.edu http://www.unm.edu/~lhendr
Received on Thu 09 Aug 2001 10:51:18 PM CDT
