So our two previous reviews of the book commented on the bestseller status of Gruen's novel, and I'll admit that it was a turn-off for me as well. I guess in my attempt to fashion myself as intellectual (or at least more intellectual than others), I was reluctant to read a book (for a book club) that has suggestions for book club reading in the back. I am also wary of any book that is so successful it gets its author a $5 million advance for her next two books (not to mention $1 million for the movie rights)!
So it kind of pains me to admit that this book was good...predictable, but good. This got me thinking, what makes a bestseller a bestseller? I think that Kara is right to say that the opening pages give a decent indication of who these characters are. Nothing is really shrouded in mystery here. Is it just wanting a "good story" to occupy time that makes this book fantastically popular? But Pat's response has me thinking that I didn't give this book enough credit--perhaps it does cleverly "stage the felxibility between reality and imagination" through its themes.
All of this is a really crap way of saying that I don't really know what to think of this book anymore. I enjoyed reading it, and there's something to be said for that. But, I think I enjoyed it self-consciously, maybe even with a little guilt. It's like listening to John Mayer--I still seem to enjoy his songs, but I probably wouldn't admit that to too many people (unless it's on a public, geeky blog). And when I do enjoy them, I'm not even entirely sure why.
This post probably strays from the idea of the blog--I doubt many people wanted to read about my hyper-conscious choices in reading. In fact, I barely talked about the book at all. Old Jacob was cool--cranky, yet lovable. I imagine that Robert Pattinson will make a bland, but pretty good looking Young Jacob. But then again, Young Jacob is kind of bland--did anyone else think he was completely naive? He just sort of seemed to be there but perhaps not be so much a part of the action.
Feel free to ignore the above comments. I know I will.
I have to admit that I also was turned off by the book's bestseller status as well. When deciding on which book to read first, I wasn't sure if WFE would be viewed as too cliche of a choice and not "intellectual" enough. However, I felt as though it might be a good starting point for the book club, and I think it has been.
ReplyDeleteThat being said, I was also surprised that I enjoyed a bestseller. Would I admit to the cute, smart boy at work that I read it? Of course not. He's only seen me with a copy of Imperial Bedrooms. But I'm enjoying WFE nonetheless.
I'm interested to see how the film adaptation of this turns out. I desperately hope that Pattinson was hired for the job because he can properly play Jacob, and not because he is a guaranteed box office success. Although, the movie would have done fine without him considering there are two Oscar winners in main roles, so that puts a little more confidence in the casting choice of Jacob (plus, I will admit that he was actually really great in How To Be). Like you said, Jacob is rather bland most of the time. He's really just the vessel for which the story is told. Kinda like Nick Carraway. Not that I would ever compare this to The Great Gatsby, but it's similar in the sense that there are all these extraordinarily interesting things happening around the narrators, but the narrators themselves aren't nearly as interesting themselves (although I will always love Carraway).
I don't know if any of that made sense, but I agreed with most of your thoughts about the book and enjoyed what you had to say.
P.S. Your use of "Vampire Veterinarian" is totally awesome.
ReplyDeleteI'm glad somebody enjoys what I have to say. I agree...good choice to start out the book club. I've already had to think about the book in more ways than I ever would have.
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