Kristie
Novel turned into BBC miniseries
"If a book is well written, I always find it too short."
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Post by Kristie on Jan 14, 2010 22:42:56 GMT -5
I agree that he's definitely placing most of the blame on himself for the hostages. And I guess you're right, Isa: that's politics and business I just can't imagine doing something that deceives like that haha
What did you guys think about the beginning, when Me. Hosokawa figures out why he likes Gen's voice so much; it sounds like his own voice? I hate my own voice personally This is another instance when I felt Mr. H was being a bit selfish. But I am beginning to like him better anyways, as I read further.
What do you think about Gen? It's easy to say he is the main character, even if he's not meant to be, since he is so central to the story. Without him, there would have to be more action, since some wouldn't understand.
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Post by Hanna on Jan 15, 2010 10:54:42 GMT -5
I like Gen, because he seems so kind. At the same time I worry about him, because everyone wants him to work for them, so he might not get any time for himself to relax or to prosess what he is going through.
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Isa
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Post by Isa on Jan 15, 2010 18:44:58 GMT -5
Yeah, I guess if we'd have to pick one main character, Gen could be it because of how his ability to speak different languages sort of brings everyone together. Hard to tell though, as this novel is not constructed like other books and the focus changes all the time. That's part of what makes this novel so unique!
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Isa
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Post by Isa on Jan 17, 2010 8:30:08 GMT -5
Shall we move on to the second part of the discussion?
I thought it was interesting to see in this section how after the terror and excitement of the first few days, everybody begins to relax and create a new sort of life within the boundaries of the vice president's house. For the first time in his entire life, Mr. Hosokawa actually has time to learn Spanish, the vice president begins to act as housekeeper, and Simon Thibault eventually takes over the kitchen. Once Roxanne and Kato start playing music together, you even get the feeling that for some of the characters, like Carmen and Hosokawa, this is perhaps the happiest time of their life! While I was reading these chapters I would often forget that there were policemen on the other side of the wall trying to figure out how to rescue the hostages and that the story was probably covered in every newspaper in the world. It's like there's a new, separate universe inside the mansion. I also thought it was interesting to see the relationships that develop between Roxane and Mr. Hosokawa, and then between Gen and Carmen. I can't help but get the feeling that such relationships would never have come to exist in the "real world" outside of the vice president's mansion.
One thing I sometimes found hard to believe though was that Roxanne's voice could get her anything she wants the way it does in the novel. When she threatens the terrorists never to sing again if they don't give her the music sheets, the impact of her voice on them is almost like that of a mermaid on a bunch of sailors. I like the opera in general, but I don't think I could be THAT affected by hearing a soprano sing next to me...
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Kristie
Novel turned into BBC miniseries
"If a book is well written, I always find it too short."
Posts: 7,214
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Post by Kristie on Feb 5, 2010 15:13:33 GMT -5
Isa, I have to agree with you about the relationships between Mr. Hosokawa & Roxane and Gen & Carmen. Both relationships made me very happy, as true love usually does. But, if not for the hostage-situation, these relationships never would have come to be. I don't know about you, but until Carmen mentioned Roxane loving Mr. H, I didn't see any hint of that before. Also, what is the age difference between Carmen & Gen? I had the feeling that Gen was upper-20s, lower-30s and Carment was around 17-18. Not that 10 years difference is a huge deal--that's how my grandparents are and they've been together for 60 years. But I just sort of thought the Roxane-Mr. H relationship came out of nowhere, even if Mr. H "loved" her for a long time before their meeting.
And again, I have to agree with you on your second point, Isa. I would not be so affected by hearing a person singing that I would give them anything in the world. I do not really care for opera music--that might be different if I could actually understand the words. The sound isn't enough for me. Even if it is for everyone that is trapped in the house.
If you're still willing to participate with me (sorry I'm so late finishing this haha), what did you think about the epilogue?
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Post by Hanna on Feb 8, 2010 16:59:32 GMT -5
I didn't quite like the epilogue, to me it just came too out of the blue in a way, I couldn't find anything in the book that pointed toward the wedding of Gen and Roxane.
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Kristie
Novel turned into BBC miniseries
"If a book is well written, I always find it too short."
Posts: 7,214
|
Post by Kristie on Feb 9, 2010 13:36:39 GMT -5
I agree Hanna. I didn't want to give my own impression while asking the question, but I didn't like how Gen and Roxane ended up together. I mean, people can end up broken hearted and that could be the end of the story--it doesn't have to be "happy" at the end. Next time there is a book with an epilogue, I will ask around if people have read it and ask them how they like it. They just ruin whole books for me sometimes...
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Isa
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Post by Isa on Feb 13, 2010 9:40:28 GMT -5
Sorry for the delay guys, I didn't have time to reply before I went away. I was also very surprised by what happened in the epilogue, in a way it made me feel even sadder than all the deaths that occurred. It's really hard to believe Roxanne and Gen would be in love, in a way it's as though they're getting married to mourn their loss together. With Carmen and Hosokawa, they'd both opened a door to a completely new world - by marrying each other, to me it feels as though they refuse to ever move on... It didn't ruin the novel for me though, I just saw it as something that might very well happen given what they've been through together.
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