Benjamin Bateman
Benjamin Bateman is Lecturer in Post-1900 British Literature at The University of Edinburgh. He teaches and publishes on modern and contemporary fiction, queer theory, and the environmental humanities
Location United Kingdom
Activity
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@JenniferC It's an impressive amount of research, I agree. And this is a novel that really walks the line between fiction and historical fiction. Yes, it's wanting us to become familiar with historical events we may not have learned in school--particularly the Manhattan riots, which I, an American, was not taught--but it's backgrounding these events at the same...
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Benjamin Bateman replied to Judi Boutle
Sorry to hear that, Judi. Hopefully some comments on this thread will spark your interest--but if not, your own reading, independent of other commentators, might yield its own rewards.
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Benjamin Bateman replied to Mary W
Nice point. There's not a lot of intrusive narration here to guide or manipulate our perspective. A lot of (really important and fun) work is left to us as readers!
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Benjamin Bateman replied to Nicky Allen
I think this is a novel that really pays dividends on a second read. Because it is so subtle and understated, a lot of it can go unnoticed or unappreciated on a first read. It's worth remembering, too, that if it's challenging to "get into" these characters, the characters struggle to get into and tune into each other as well. Much of this novel is about the...
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Benjamin Bateman replied to Jan B
@BrennaPaulin Funerals are reminders that we live in the minds and memories of others--and so our lives can take many and wildly different forms!
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Benjamin Bateman replied to Ineke Fioole
@JanetP Yes we do refer to that as a bildungsroman--or, if it's about the development of an artist (like Joyce's Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man), we refer to it as a kunstlerroman. But hewing too closely to the German origins can get tricky, because in its German roots, bildungsroman isn't just about the coming of age of the person; it's also about...
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Benjamin Bateman replied to Jan B
Wonderful point here about reliable narration. Reliability isn't just about objectivity or comprehensive understanding; it's also about being true to one's self and one's feelings--and that might even mean staying true to one's biases, flaws, blindspots, etc. So consistency can be important as well.
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Benjamin Bateman made a comment
I'm really enjoying the conversation below about whether "cold" characters are intended in these stories or whether their "coldness" is a function of the short story form that doesn't have the time to warm them up. It's worth considering if there might be a reason to construct cold or distant or emotionally unavailable characters (to convey the effects of...
