Monday, September 8, 2008
Oracle Night-- What do you think?
Oracle Night was, in my opinion, the best book we’ve read so far in our IB English course; I did enjoy it a lot. I thought it was very captivating due to Auster’s distinguished writing style in which he experiments with new, unconventional writing techniques by applying post-modern elements such as footnotes, plot within a plot, writing about the process of creating a novel through the eyes of an author, etc. I also found that the simplicity of the language makes the novel much more enjoyable and easier to grasp, especially since the plotline is somewhat complex. All in all, I think that Paul Auster is very skillful and original in his writing, as he is able to explore his characters thoroughly and bring them, very subtly, to life.
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2 comments:
I could not agree more with everything you said. Auster's writing style is indeed an asset to this novel. Also the idea of writing a story within a story with both a connceted meaning is very uncommon, intersting and definitly captivating. Finally, it is true, Auster does use a certain way of description that makes the whole novel so beautifully real. Oracle Night is as you said the best book we have read so far (i must say that i also greatly enjoyed Season of Migration to the North.)
Oracle Night was indeed a good book, but I'm not sure it was the best book we've read so far in my opinion. The distinct writing style did contribute positively to the novel, as you mentioned, so I completely agree with you on that point. The long footnotes added an avant-garde element to the story (although personally I think he could have done without them and simply inserted the footnotes into the novel itself, still,its different which is good).What makes it interesting and original is that it is unlike anything we've read yet, and without this unique aspect of the novel it wouldn't be intriguing at all. Many people thought that the multiple-story was unnecessarily confusing, but we seem to agree that although it is slightly complex the author manages to pull this off charmingly.
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