David I enjoyed reading your thoughts. It's interesting you noted the line "The mountains behind the farm made the sun climb a long way to show itself." I love the language here too. I think it does a great job of showing us how everything Arnold sees is about something/someone having power over something/someone else -it's even in the w…
David I enjoyed reading your thoughts. It's interesting you noted the line "The mountains behind the farm made the sun climb a long way to show itself." I love the language here too. I think it does a great job of showing us how everything Arnold sees is about something/someone having power over something/someone else -it's even in the way he thinks of the sun coming up. That word 'made' is so subtly placed and rings of a child's voice. I've mentioned a in a few other posts that I feel Arnold is really trying to understand his place as the youngest in a family/community.
I too liked that Gina started with noting the nakedness, and I see it a tiny warning sign of negligence (where are those PJs or underwear), who tucks him in (aged nine) and checks he's cozy?. Maybe he wants to be like Eugene, we didn't get to know if Eugene was naked, so I doubt it is that. Also, he doesn't put on underwear beneath his overalls. Is that just demonstrating his practical nature/just being reasonable - like the importance of collecting peas when they're cold?
I love the attention to the detail of getting the boys and the tub through the wire (at different levels -- because Arnold notices that, because he's smaller) I love how our focus is on that so it's the moment we are least expecting the gun to go off, even if we anticipate it will.
Yes to the hand on the back, an incredible line, especially in the light that it never happens. No-one offers him any comfort. No-one suspects he might be in shock. Most mothers and fathers would still want to hug their children after an incident, despite the child's reaction. The fact that the mother tells him to go away from the door, is the most devastating scene, but we have been led to expect it. The sister skips behind worried she might be forgotten, and that's a second mention about worrying about neglect.
I think Arnold retreats to animals and nature as a place to fit in, (staying the barn, eating scraps (like chickens) or where being an animal will get his father's attention or being an animal is easier to do (even when he tries to pounce on Eugene, that has a lion cub feel to it). All that Gina tells us about the world around them in nature, is how Arnold sees it, I think.
It's a incredible story, without a wasted word, with incredible structure, and with layering of meaning at every sentence said and unsaid.
Wow, Marissa. Thank you for taking me even deeper into it! With some of this I merely felt the beauty of the line but missed the significance of the way it rippled out into the world of the story.
I just received my copy of Women In Their Beds. I am so happy to have it.
I know what you mean, Marissa. For me, it’s probably more of a comfort because I feel - with proof from over a half century of reading - that in the hardest times, the knowledge that there is reading to be done gives me comfort and the strength to go on.
David I enjoyed reading your thoughts. It's interesting you noted the line "The mountains behind the farm made the sun climb a long way to show itself." I love the language here too. I think it does a great job of showing us how everything Arnold sees is about something/someone having power over something/someone else -it's even in the way he thinks of the sun coming up. That word 'made' is so subtly placed and rings of a child's voice. I've mentioned a in a few other posts that I feel Arnold is really trying to understand his place as the youngest in a family/community.
I too liked that Gina started with noting the nakedness, and I see it a tiny warning sign of negligence (where are those PJs or underwear), who tucks him in (aged nine) and checks he's cozy?. Maybe he wants to be like Eugene, we didn't get to know if Eugene was naked, so I doubt it is that. Also, he doesn't put on underwear beneath his overalls. Is that just demonstrating his practical nature/just being reasonable - like the importance of collecting peas when they're cold?
I love the attention to the detail of getting the boys and the tub through the wire (at different levels -- because Arnold notices that, because he's smaller) I love how our focus is on that so it's the moment we are least expecting the gun to go off, even if we anticipate it will.
Yes to the hand on the back, an incredible line, especially in the light that it never happens. No-one offers him any comfort. No-one suspects he might be in shock. Most mothers and fathers would still want to hug their children after an incident, despite the child's reaction. The fact that the mother tells him to go away from the door, is the most devastating scene, but we have been led to expect it. The sister skips behind worried she might be forgotten, and that's a second mention about worrying about neglect.
I think Arnold retreats to animals and nature as a place to fit in, (staying the barn, eating scraps (like chickens) or where being an animal will get his father's attention or being an animal is easier to do (even when he tries to pounce on Eugene, that has a lion cub feel to it). All that Gina tells us about the world around them in nature, is how Arnold sees it, I think.
It's a incredible story, without a wasted word, with incredible structure, and with layering of meaning at every sentence said and unsaid.
Wow, Marissa. Thank you for taking me even deeper into it! With some of this I merely felt the beauty of the line but missed the significance of the way it rippled out into the world of the story.
I just received my copy of Women In Their Beds. I am so happy to have it.
I hope my copy arrives soon. I am so grateful to find this writer.
So many gifts. Can I live long enough to read everything worth reading? Or find it with fresh eyes in another life?
Sometimes that thought gives me panic attacks, sometimes it gives me a huge sense of comfort.
I know what you mean, Marissa. For me, it’s probably more of a comfort because I feel - with proof from over a half century of reading - that in the hardest times, the knowledge that there is reading to be done gives me comfort and the strength to go on.