I'm on page 55. I should be on page 94 if you go by the infinite summer schedule, which is what I'm doing. My excuse is that I felt compelled to finish Butcher's Crossing.
What's different this time around? It's funnier; in these first pages I'm able to read a more consistent parodic tone than I was on the first read-thru (so if you're wondering why I'm going to spend six months of 2009 reading this book, there's your first reason, it's already made me a better reader). I'm not as thrown off by the repetitive nature of the more obsessive passages, ie, the Erdedy section and Orin. I'm also able to see how DFW is consistently giving information, sometimes in the form of minute details, in each section that relates to the larger story. You know how you feel when you're watching Pulp Fiction for the second time or Momento or Fight Club for the like 20th or so? Kind of like that.
As for the Erdedy section: I suggest reading it outloud for full-humor-effect. That's what I did on Friday in my kitchen and really busted myself up because, if I must say so myself, I am a great read-aloud reader (I'm also a read-aloud writer, which means that I have to be around very understanding folks when I'm writing at a cafe).
I read the description of Enfield Tennis Academy this afternoon while I was putting my son down for a nap and I'll standby my previous post about that section. Understanding what cardioid might mean is helpful in understanding the structure if you really feel like you need that sort of thing. I'll add one thing that I've learned since then that may or may not relate to ETA being cardioid-shaped which is this: a cardioid is also a type of microphone.
I guess I should explain about the pictures. I went to Phoenix to see Under Construction. I intended to go to this restuarant, but when I set the GPS, I thought for fun, I'll just see what would come up under burgers - and well, there it was. I had no idea Whataburger was real - I won't go so far as to say that it qualifies as fast food since it took over 15 minutes to place an order at speaker/microphone unit and have it handed to me at the pick-up window.
I'm sure everyone else knew of the existence of WhatABurger. Well anyway, I had to go. The first Whataburger that came up was located just outside ASU (interesting, huh?), but when I got there the whole thing had been scraped to the concrete presumably to make way for the lightrail. So anyway, I had to find another. What can I say? WhatABurger. You can read my review of that experience here.
No comments:
Post a Comment