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Re: Language
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From: Lynn Rutan <lynnrutan_at_charter.net>
Date: Sat, 30 Jan 2010 08:27:27 -0500
Sorry about the lack-of-coffee finger slip with my previous message!
I think the point being raised is an interesting one and one that reviewers and committees grapple with a lot. Does the narrative, in Norma Jean's excellent words, "through speech and insight" seem much older and wiser than his/her chronological age? Like so much of literary criticism this is often quite subjective and many of us have tended to measure this by our interaction with teens, by our personal memories of adolescence or by our academic understanding of a setting or time period.
"No kid ever talks like this," is a comment I have heard frequently in discussion only to hear someone counter with experience with teens who clearly did talk like that. When do any us achieve insight into our situations? Can we set a chronological age for such things on a sliding scale? Certainly many adults have not yet achieved that level of understanding ;-)
After many years of struggling with this issue I have settled into asking myself if the voice is consistent throughout the narrative and if it is supported by other aspects of the character development. I do expect historical accuracy and a logical premise from the author, of course. But I am willing to go along with character like Calpurnia, whose voice may sound mature, but whose actions, observations and voice are consistently represented.
I greatly enjoyed The Evolution of Calpurnia Tate although I think it is a book for the upper end of the age range. For me it was the essence of coming of age - that realization of who you are, what you are good at and where you fit. The fact that the place was almost unattainable was so beautifully nuanced. Kelly let me come to that realization right along with Calpurnia and as a reader, I wanted SO much that she would be able to break through to where she needed to be and that hope was there but not assured at the end.
It is a leisurely book. It is one to saunter through, experience, examine and reflect on - like a scientific inquiry. I think it is a book for character-driven people rather than plot driven people and that may be the difference in people's reactions to it. I especially enjoyed the parallels between Calpurnia's personal evolution and her understanding of Darwin's theory - all there for me to discover as a reader. Beautifully shown not told.
Lynn
Lynn Rutan Librarian Holland, MI lynnrutan_at_charter.net
Received on Sat 30 Jan 2010 08:27:27 AM CST
Date: Sat, 30 Jan 2010 08:27:27 -0500
Sorry about the lack-of-coffee finger slip with my previous message!
I think the point being raised is an interesting one and one that reviewers and committees grapple with a lot. Does the narrative, in Norma Jean's excellent words, "through speech and insight" seem much older and wiser than his/her chronological age? Like so much of literary criticism this is often quite subjective and many of us have tended to measure this by our interaction with teens, by our personal memories of adolescence or by our academic understanding of a setting or time period.
"No kid ever talks like this," is a comment I have heard frequently in discussion only to hear someone counter with experience with teens who clearly did talk like that. When do any us achieve insight into our situations? Can we set a chronological age for such things on a sliding scale? Certainly many adults have not yet achieved that level of understanding ;-)
After many years of struggling with this issue I have settled into asking myself if the voice is consistent throughout the narrative and if it is supported by other aspects of the character development. I do expect historical accuracy and a logical premise from the author, of course. But I am willing to go along with character like Calpurnia, whose voice may sound mature, but whose actions, observations and voice are consistently represented.
I greatly enjoyed The Evolution of Calpurnia Tate although I think it is a book for the upper end of the age range. For me it was the essence of coming of age - that realization of who you are, what you are good at and where you fit. The fact that the place was almost unattainable was so beautifully nuanced. Kelly let me come to that realization right along with Calpurnia and as a reader, I wanted SO much that she would be able to break through to where she needed to be and that hope was there but not assured at the end.
It is a leisurely book. It is one to saunter through, experience, examine and reflect on - like a scientific inquiry. I think it is a book for character-driven people rather than plot driven people and that may be the difference in people's reactions to it. I especially enjoyed the parallels between Calpurnia's personal evolution and her understanding of Darwin's theory - all there for me to discover as a reader. Beautifully shown not told.
Lynn
Lynn Rutan Librarian Holland, MI lynnrutan_at_charter.net
Received on Sat 30 Jan 2010 08:27:27 AM CST
