The Most Relatable Novel Up to This Point

I would have to say that out of all the books that we’ve read, I’m enjoying Black Swan Green by David Mitchell the most. Although I’ve probably already said this for a couple of books, I retract my previous statements and say that this is by far the most relatable books. It really mixes in humor with family and peer dynamics, something that I remember far too well from my “younger” years.

One of the things that I find so identifiable with this novel is the family dynamic demonstrated in the Relatives chapter. In my experiences with family gatherings, and what I think the author evokes really well, is how awkward those types of interactions can end up becoming. Like I think David Mitchell explains this really well, there’s parents boasting on the kids behalf and them awkwardly, yet politely trying to argue with each other. I acted just like Jason did having his extended family over; quiet and trying to act unnoticeable. As shy as I tried to be, my aunts would start talking about how my cousins got accepted into this prestigious something or other, and I knew my mom would pull the unwanted spotlight onto me. Just like Jason didn’t want some of his family members to know about his poetry win, I didn’t want people to know that I got my yellow belt in taekwondo.

And then there’s those two adults, and they each think they’re right, and the other is wrong, but neither will admit to anything. And the entire time they are trying to be as polite as possible. I can just picture my aunts arguing over something really random, but being persistent about it. I think that Michael and Brian really showcase the rising tension and I think it’s just a great depiction of something that’s actually quite commonplace. But unlike the other books that we’ve been reading, although there is tangible tension, the chapter is considerably lighter and more humorous. Small quips are made, and everything gets smoothed out more or less in the end.

In terms of peer dynamic, I also think that the author does a great job of describing that realistically. Just reading the section where Jason takes the bus, or when he’s explaining his peers social hierarchy, it mentally brought me back to my time in elementary school. My perspective was a bit different since I’m a girl, but the dynamic is there in essence. Even at a young age, people start being broken up into different social groups, and like Jason, I was somewhere in the middle. And there’s always that one popular kid that you thinks a moron, and one kid that gets picked on. These scenes are more enjoyable by how innocently oblivious David Mitchell makes Jason out to be, like when he doesn’t know what a particular insult means. I remember not knowing any swear words until I was way out of elementary school. It’s also really interesting to note how similar my experiences were to Jason’s situations even though we live in different parts of the world and in different decades.

Overall, I’m really appreciating this book because I find it very close to my own life experiences. Obviously not everything is exact, but it’s still fun to compare and contrast. I’m really looking forward to reading more of this book!

Sylvie and Ruth

Even though we’ve officially finished reading Housekeeping I want to dedicate at least one post to it to. So for this post I wanted to consider one of the bigger discussion question that we’ve been talking about in class. Basically it was whether or not Sylvie is a good guardian Ruth.

Out of the entirety of the book, I would have to say that, based on the circumstances that Ruth is in, Sylvie is the one of the best guardians for her. Helen wasn’t very present in Ruth’s life at all, with Ruth’s recollections of her mother being that she was very distant and emotionally disconnected with her children. Sylvia did take care of the girls, but she held herself back a little emotionally. One of Ruth’s childhood memories was even if she flinched during an embrace, her grandmother would stop and pull back. Up to that point, she was, as much as I can discern from the reading, the most significant mother figure for the girls, but sadly she died. Then there’s Lily and Nona, and even from the brief time they were there you could tell that they honestly didn’t want to be there whatsoever, and they fretted too much over everything. Although the circumstances there less than optimal for her needing to take over, and right off the bat you can tell that she’s not ideal, Sylvie genuinely seems to care for the girls and wants to be there.

I think the biggest reason why Sylvie is the most well-suited guardian for Ruth they are both so similar. Sylvie and Ruth are introverted and don’t fit into society that well, but Sylvie kind of taught Ruth to be okay in her own skin. Just the scene with the park bench shows that Sylvie is above caring what other people might think about her. Like Ruth was articulating when she noticed that her sister was pressuring her, she doesn’t want to change. Sylvie respects that, and they feel comfortable with one another. Towards the end of the book we see that Ruth is content having followed Sylvie, and we see that that was possibly the best choice for Ruth’s happiness, given the other choices, like having to lead a forced, unnatural life as a town girl, that made her feel awkward and alone.

In terms of physical well-being, though, I think Sylvie does take a lot of risks with Ruth. One of the couple of times that this is demonstrated is when she lets the girls wander off and doesn’t come searching for them. It honestly shocked me when Sylvie was calmly reading, waiting for them to come back, disregarding the fact that they hadn’t slept at home. It could have been a potentially dangerous scenario because the girls could’ve hurt themselves. If anything had happened, no one would’ve been there to help them out or help would have gotten there at least a couple hours later. Sylvie is still adjusting her day to day, and subsequently Ruth’s, as if she were still living the transient lifestyle, but she needs to keep in mind that Ruth is still a kid. My biggest issue with Sylvie is that she’s reckless and kind of needs to be more mature in general. I understand her “free-spirit” pursuit of life, but there comes a limit when people’s lives could be at risk. She seems to take precaution to the wind.

Overall, although her approach to caregiving is considerably unorthodox, Sylvie is the best possible person to take care of Ruth, given the situation. She really understands Ruth, and doesn’t force her to be something that she doesn’t want to be. In my opinion, Sylvie still needs to be more responsible when it comes to the physically well-being of her protege, but at the end of the day, Ruth chose to follow Sylvie, and who better than yourself to decide who makes you the happies?