So every time I find my self sitting down about to write a blog I'm really never sure exactly what I'm supposed to be doing... oh well.
One thing that I noticed when I was reading "Bookseller" was that Seiersted uses a lot of descriptive lists more than anything. Especially in the beginning of the book when she is still trying to describe the setting and set the mood for the novel. Although our writers book warned us against the use of descriptive lists, I think that they are quite effective in this book. It's a quick way for the author to reach her initial purpose of giving her audience background information.
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2 comments:
I agree; I feel the sentence structure that Seierstad adopts, although appearing like a list, is very effective. It seems more powerful because it emphasizes the normality of the situations that Sultan and his family are in. I think description is especially effective in the beginning of chapter 2 when she describes the burning of the books and personifies the books as the people in them.
I also agree. I think the point you make about it being a quick and easy way for her to establish the mood for the novel is definitely true. For me, reading the lists seems like a less attached way for Seiersted to talk about what she sees and I think that is integral to this story which has a lot of jouranlistic aspects to it. I think the fact that she uses this method, rather than a more in-depth means of description, maintains this journalistic quality of her work.
..if that makes any sense.
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