Tuesday, January 22, 2008

Anne Carson

While I am an English Writing major and have always considered myself someone who loves reading, I have always been weary of nonconventional pieces such as Anne Carson's "Autobiography of Red". I guess I have always been intimidated by books that did not follow the standard patterns that I was introduced to when I was younger and so am very familiar with. I was really hoping that this course would introduce me to/force me to read books that differ from the forms that I am used to, and here I am getting this on our very first book!

I agree with a lot of you when I say that I really picked up (and this surprised me a bit) a large since of emotion from this book. I couldn't believe at first how much the character of Geryon struck me. Carson's writing is so universal that I was able to relate to this character in a way I didn't think was possible after discovering that he was a "winged red monster". Someone (I forget who) posted below and described her reaction to the book as a sort of "coming of age". I think that is a really intersting description for this book and it helps me see Geryon in a different light. Perhaps that is part of the reason why he is so relateable. Whether he is a winged monster or not, he is dealing with a lot of the emotions that we have either experienced ourselves, or read several other characters who have dealt with the same types of things.

1 comment:

Kelly said...

It was interesting to see how the reader begins relating to Geryon as the work progresses. At first this seems unimaginable, but as more emotion gets worked into the action, it becomes more tangible.