JCO: Re: A Bloodsmoor Romance

Hi friends!
Eric, I think I (and perhaps other people) had
trouble keeping track of the characters at first for
the same reason I usually don't read novels: I'm not
that interested in characters, physical descriptions,
settings, etc., and read about these with only half a
mind while I try to get to "the story." Some of us
just aren't programmed to appreciate novels.
Of course, once things really started happening in
Bloodsmoor, it was easy to keep track of at least the
main characters, because each of them had a story.
My paperback version of the book certainly looks
like a typical romance novel. On the back and spine
are the Kiddemaster mansion and gazebo, the four older
daughters, and Dierdre and the balloon in the
background. JQZ is there too, although at that time he
should have been on his way home. The front cover
shows Dierdre, and the carriage that took the family
to the fancy tea at the grandparents' house. Also on
the front cover is your typical "purple prose" couple:
a man in uniform and a woman with her dress falling
from her shoulders. I can't figure out who they are
supposed to be. Ah! Now I've figured it out--you have
to read almost to the very end of the book. (I have
about 20 pages to go!) Actually, maybe the carriage
goes with the couple on the front....
Thanks for the discussion.
All the best,
Laurie

=====
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http://www.betteredit.net
laurie@betteredit.net

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Re: JCO: A Bloodsmoor Romance

Hi Ruth

Interesting that Bloodsmoor Romance was categorized in the "Romance"
section. I wonder what a person looking for a more standard type of romance
novel would think of it.

It's interesting your point about easily being able to keep track of
characters and the story while reading multiple books. I've always found the
same thing with Oates' writing and have been a little surprised when giving
someone a book of hers to read and they respond saying it's difficult to
keep track of everything that's happening and all the characters. I think
there is something in what you say about the characters being more real
which makes them more easy to remember. I've never had any difficulty
getting into Oates' stories because many of the characters feel instantly
familiar to me, or at least I understand them in a way that I don't readily
identify with characters in some other books. I wonder if it stems from a
certain point of view the author is able to give on all her characters that
make them more engaging and allow you to sympathize with them or whether the
closeness is caused from the characters' shared wellspring that is Oates'
own elusive personality.

I'd be interested to hear more of your responses to her books that you're
reading.

All the best,
Eric



>From: Ruth Pickering
>Reply-To: jco@usfca.edu
>To: jco@usfca.edu
>Subject: Re: JCO: A Bloodsmoor Romance Date: Wed, 8 Dec 2004 15:49:41 -0500
>
>Hi Jane,
>I recently found a "Bloodsmoor Romance" in a used book store. It was in the
>"romance" section of the store and a clever book seller thought she
>remembered the author and found it for me.
>
>I love the cheekiness of the writing, but haven't finished it yet as I got
>started on "Blonde a novel" and am also still working my way through
>Bellefleur.
>
> And yes I can keep track of all three books at the same time! I have
>never been able to do this with other authors before, but my opinion is
>that JCO is such an amazing author that she doesn't write about characters,
>but gives us real, honest-to-gosh people. So the experience of *reading*
>more closely mirrors *life* in that once you've met a *real* person and
>learned a bit about them, you can pretty easily re-connect with them when
>you meet them again. Whereas in *regular* novels, the persons are
>"characters" acting in "plots", all of which for me is more difficult to
>keep track of...
>
>I'd love to discuss Bloodsmoor when I'm done, maybe in early Jan, so I'll
>keep whatever notes arise here and respond later ......
>
>Also would love to discuss Blonde (when I'm done)...... it's quite amazing
>... more another time.
>
>happy reading
>ruth
>
>On 8-Dec-04, at 2:51 PM, Jane wrote:
>
>>Early fall there was some mention of discussing A Bloodsmoor Romance. I
>>just finished this long novel and would love to discuss it with others.
>>Is anyone else ready to discuss this work? Here are some initial
>>comments to help start a conversation:
>>
>>It took a while for me to get involved in this story. The beginning,
>>with the abduction of Dierdre by a black silken balloon, seemed
>>preposterous (and it never is clearly explained), and the the style of
>>writing seemed tedious at first. Then after about 50 pages, I began to
>>enjoy the language used by the narrator and to appreciate the parady of
>>a Victorian romance. The narrator writes in a 19th-century style,
>>complete with moralizing sayings, and she has no problem about leaping
>>ahead of her story and then circling back to one of the strings she left
>>hanging. As she tells the story of the five Zinn sisters, she often
>>condemns their behavior. She appears to hold rigid, conformist views of
>>proper behavior and etiquette, all the while making those views seem
>>ridiculous to our more "modern" ways of thinking. Although she tells us
>>the subject is ''Christian marriage, that treasure so ignorantly spurned
>>by three of our young Zinn ladies, in their frenzied quest for their own
>>fortunes in the wide world,'' the real subject seems to be the destiny
>>of women in the 19th century and the ways it has carried on into the
>>present.
>>
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>>
>There are two ways of living your life: one is as if nothing is a miracle. 
>The other is as if everything is a miracle. -Albert Einstein


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