Gould's Book of Fish employs too much inconsistency for me to really take it seriously. First of all, we are assigned to read and explore a book that has no apparent meaning. Although the chaotic and far out nature of the novel may be its appeal to some, to me it just brings frustration. While I read this book I can not find ways to enjoy it. It is confusing and trippy and just does not make sense to me. However, grades depend on understanding this book and being able to dissect it and analyze it. The fact that I can not even understand it does not help.
Moreover, the narration in the book is inconsistent. Gould tells us not to take books seriously and not to ask 'why', because trying to understand them ruins the experience. However, earlier he stated that "all books were holy" (58) as they used God's letters. Now if all books are holy, then there is a very good reason to ask why, and to try to understand them. Another inconsistency is just in the fact this story was written. The narrator is so unreliable that I find it silly that he expects anyone to read his tale - and yet, he took the time to write it all down. We have already discussed all the "layers" to the novel, but we can now add some more. He is a murderer, a forger, and even describes himself as "the most untrustworthy guide" (53). Why do we bother? He is almost begging us not to read his own book.
This is why I do not read fiction.
I kinda felt the same way when I first started reading the book. I think it's one of those things where you just find meaning where ever you feel it exists. In the beginning I was trying to analyze every sentence and find something significant in every section. Now, if I find a sentence that intrigues me I underline it and move on, and try not to dwell on it any further. It helps to read it like you would a diary or a journal. When people write diary entries, they don't try to make everything they write have significant meaning (at least I don't). I feel like Gould is just keeping a journal and that he at one point had a purpose for the book, but it got lost somewhere along the way. I think maybe at the end, once I go back and look at all of the things that I've marked there will be some type of meaning for me that will probably be different from the meaning that some else found in it.
ReplyDeleteI agree with you Ryan, that the book can be quite frustrating and confusing sometimes. I must disagree with you that the book has no meaning though. It does have meaning, and I believe this meaning will become clearer as we read on in the book. Keep in mind that no man would go about writing a novel if he had no purpose, no goal in doing so. It would just be a waste of time for him to do so. One thing I would like to point out is that just as you are frustrated in finding meaning and purpose in this novel, the prisoners of the penal colony struggle to find their own purpose as the administrators of the colony break them down (which is maybe why Gould tries to confuse you by saying he is unreliable, suggesting maybe this book has no purpose). Maybe Gould is challenging us, just as he had to challenge himself in finding meaning in life, to find meaning in an overly complex, confusing work (life for him). There is meaning in this, I am sure of it. My suggestion is to be patient, look for patterns, and stay confident. We'll get through this book!
ReplyDeleteI felt the same way with this novel, and I personally don't know where we are headed in terms of being able to break the novel down when it comes to graded assignments. I hope that this will all be able to make sense in one huge twisted plot progression, but where we are at as of right now leaves us at a point of utter confusion and frustration. At the same time I believe, like Holly said in class, the author is trying to make us work to understand what is going on. Though we as the reading audience prefer to have stories delivered to us directly, Flanagan purposely puts us on a journey so that we fully immerse ourselves in the text. I feel as if the class is going through a general sense of confusion, but with the help of our classroom discussion we will be able to get through this book and come up with realistic conclusions to what is happening in this story.
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