I don't read a lot of short stories on my own, but I like the fact that there is such a diversity in what we read for a week. If you get assigned a book you don't like, you still have to finish reading it. Here it's not long before you can move on to the next one. However, this didn't seem to be a big problem this week, as I liked many of the stories.
I guess my favorite was probably "Steam Girl." I would like to imagine that the girl really was stuck in a warped version of reality. Also, I thought it had an interesting story within a story dynamic that kept me wanting to know more.
On an unrelated note, I guess I'll bring in my American Studies background now. I went to see the movie Argo last weekend. In case you don't know what it's about, a CIA agent uses the pretense of a science fiction movie as he tries to rescue six Americans trapped in Iran during the hostage crisis. Being in this class makes me pay more attention to references of science fiction. Anyway, not strictly related, but thought I'd mention it anyway. I hadn't heard of it until someone else told me about it.
I agree, I really liked the diversity of the stories this week. I thought all of them were interesting and presented their own individual perspective which I really enjoy.
ReplyDeleteI was not a huge fan of Steam Girl, mainly because I did not particularly care for any of the main characters. I did love the majority of the other stories, though, mainly because they addressed such a large number of varied topics!
ReplyDeleteThe story Valley of the Girls was definitely one of the more bizarre stories we've read. I had no idea what was going on until about the last two pages. I agree that this week's assigned readings were quite diverse.
ReplyDeleteOne thing that I rather like better about novels is that they're long enough that the author has to make them likable and has to make them make sense. A short story doesn't always have those things. A short story can get by with an interesting premise and terrible writing or a terrible plot (What We Found). A short story doesn't have to explain what's going on (Valley of the Girls). A novel has to make sense and be well written or else it won't win a dozen awards and sell all over the place. The medium forces the author to make their work more agreeable.
ReplyDeleteI actually really enjoyed "Steam Girl." I began reading with hopes of it being a superhero type story, but I was slightly disappointed in that regard. However, it still managed to be great in other aspects. It reminded me of "Stargirl," a book we read in middle school. It's about a boy becoming friends with the new, strange girl who just started going to their school. Everyone thinks she's weird at first, until they get to know her. I was very glad that the protagonist in "Steam Girl" actually did befriend her and stood up for her when it was necessary!
ReplyDeleteAlso, in Steam Girl's story, the mom, who has never been there, suddenly appears and turns out to be the villain. Though we never see her mom in real life, I wonder if she is similar to her written counterpart. Rumors were that her dad was the abusive one, but what if the truth lies in Steam Girl's stories and it's the mom. Think about it.
I'm not going to lie, I decided to suspend my disbelief and convince myself she was from another reality. Also I have heard from many people now that Argo was really worth seeing. I'll definitely have to put that on my list!
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