Mois Benarroch
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Mois Benarroch
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If you tried to draw out a diagram of an average book's plot structure, you'd end up with something that looks like a river with tributaries, right? Ideas starts someplace else and then flow into the main plot, or they branch out from the main plot and then rejoin in later.
To do the same with Gates to Tangier, you'd have to cut the paper and twist it into a mobius strip.
There's stuff that happens early in the book that feels jarring and out of place. Then several chapters later, a character says things that, if you catch it, if you put the book down and think through the implications, you might start to doubt whether the jarring stuff happened at all, or if one of characters made it up.
And then you'll start wondering who is supposed to be writing this story in the first place, and where you, as the reader, fit into the timeline of it all.
I really liked Gates to Tangier, but I think of it less as a story, and more as a sculpture built out of words, and existing in time instead of physical space.
It's written for the kind of person who drove their parents crazy when they were nine, asking questions like, "but if the universe is expanding, AND the universe has all of space inside it, where is the space that it's expanding into?"
It's weird and niche. You need a high tolerance for confusion to enjoy it, and the ability to say, "I'm going to stop thinking about that now, because that way lies madness."
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Disjointed. Yes, that is definitely the word for it.EMoffat wrote:I am not a huge fan of the author either, and I find his writting disjointed and hard to follow. Some of his characters are interesting, but I never find the plots engaging (or understandable). He has won lots of awards though.. maybe I am missing something??
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That is so true! In his book "Raquel Says (Something Entirely Unexpected)" the plot was vague and I feel he focused more on conveying his thoughts and feelings than on telling the actual story.WordHound wrote:Today's book of the day, Gates to Tangier, is by Mois Benarroch. I recently reviewed one of his other books and was disappointed by the lack of resolution to the plot. Has anyone read his other books? I'm curious if this was just something he did for Expelled, or if it's typical of how he writes his books.
Yes! You will, indeed!
(98 and 3/4 percent guaranteed.)
KID, YOU'LL MOVE MOUNTAINS!" - Dr. Seuss
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Rebeccaej wrote:There's stuff that happens early in (Gates to Tangier) that feels jarring and out of place. Then several chapters later, a character says things that, if you catch it, if you put the book down and think through the implications, you might start to doubt whether the jarring stuff happened at all, or if one of characters made it up.
And then you'll start wondering who is supposed to be writing this story in the first place, and where you, as the reader, fit into the timeline of it all.
I really liked Gates to Tangier, but I think of it less as a story, and more as a sculpture built out of words, and existing in time instead of physical space.
Rebeccaej wrote:It's weird and niche. You need a high tolerance for confusion to enjoy it, and the ability to say, "I'm going to stop thinking about that now, because that way lies madness."
It's similar in The Expelled- he actively goes out of his way to confuse and disorientate the reader. If someone starts reading only looking for a story, they'll be sorely disappointed. If they can take something from the reading experience, though, they should really appreciate it. A sculpture of words is an excellent way to look at it.
As a sidenote, there's a great quote about landscape paintings which is well worth applying to books in this vein: "Dans le paysage, ce qu'il y a de plus interessant c'est le paysagiste." In the landscape, the most interesting aspect is the landscapist
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