- the absence (but at the same time presence) of Theenie
- The Baby Grand and its underage-serving inhabitants
- the "ludicrous as all get-out" (68) faculty party the Doctor throws
- the Ali-Frazer boxing match
- the use of the word "jake" throughout
- race relations, representations of race through location and language and dialogue
- significance of mullet
- custody junkets and their import
- the (confusing?) beginning
- the (rushed?) ending
- and a bunch of other stuff I'm not thinking of at the moment.
Sunday, February 14, 2010
Miscellany
Here's some other stuff worth discussing, mayhaps:
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I've noticed that as I read each succesive book in our club, I draw on our previous discussions and notice things that I probably wouldn't have otherwise. Something that really struck me throughout "Edisto" was author's voice and authenticity, whether or not the narrator has a license to speak about certain topics. Remembering how up in arms many of us were regarding Confederacy of Dunces and its treatment of the black characters, I felt as if I could get similarly annoyed by Edisto. But I didn't; in contrast, it felt very authentic to me and I didn't question Powell's authority to describe South Carolina's poor black community. Is that because he positions Simons as being inside the culture? Or do we give Simons a pass because he's very young, and maybe not quite as precocious as he thinks he is? Simons definitely felt like part of the culture (I liked his indignation during the mullet-fishing scene, when the only other white person in the river was catching mullet and throwing them back). Maybe he gets to talk about African-American culture because he identifies so strongly with it, regardless whether the actual black adults also see him as one of them.
ReplyDeleteOh, I definitely had similar pangs about entitlement and representation, Courtney, but I sure as shit wasn't going to bring them up; I learned my lesson the first time around. :)
ReplyDeleteI suppose it was how Simons was treated at the Baby Grand that, for me, gave him just the sort of racial license that Ig neither sought nor received in CoD. I think the patrons were amused by Simons' playing it cool with them, especially when "introducing" Taurus. Simons never kowtowed to but also never relegated the black community of Edisto, which earns him street cred in my book, and maybe theirs too. Plus he flew out of that bus that one time.
I guess this was as good a place as any to put my comments. Believe it or not, I'd actually finished it before the discussion questions even were posted. My problem in coming back to the discussion is probably two-fold. First: crazy busy with life. It happens to all of us, it happened to me. And I'm on the computer SO MUCH that I've looked forward to all the opportunities i've had to just switch it off. The second thing was that I didn't really know what to say about Edisto.
ReplyDeleteI enjoyed reading it for sure. The language was good, I was fairly engaged with the story and there were lots of details that were pleasant to chew on. I especially liked the boxing segment, as I was familiar with the fight itself and I thought it was very well presented. Ultimately, I just don't think I "got"Edisto. To read some of the praise heaped on it, it's supposed to be a modern-day Catcher in the Rye, ONLY BETTER. But I didn't really get that sense from it. I mean, I didn't know what to think. As I said, I enjoyed reading it, and when it was done I was like: "All Right". But I also didn't feel like I necessarily missed anything either. I was kind of waiting for someone in the comments to be like "it's all an allegory for Reconstruction" and I would be "Ah, THAT's what I missed", but so far I don't think anyone's offered any connections like that, yet. I am open to them, if folks have them!
T address one of the other things discussed, I didn't have any issues with Simons being part of the black southern culture presented in the book. I didn't think he was a poseur, or anything like that... I just thought that was the environment he was raised in, so he had every right to be a part of it, irrespective of skin color. I think, ultimately, when he's placed in the private school at the end, despite his parentage, that's where he's a fish out of water. A mullet probably.
Ultimately, I guess I think of the book Edisto like a Shoney's. Southern American, perfectly tasty while you're there, but only vaguely memorable once you've left it.