Generosity
Nov. 12th, 2020 10:12 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
alobearIf I hadn't read the blurb on the back, I wouldn't have known what Generosity by Richard Powers is about until roughly halfway through. As the blurb tells you, it follows the story of Thassa, a young Algerian woman, who is, by nature, always happy. The world eventually takes note and wants to know how to get what she has, whether through proximity, genetic science or abuse.
But it's definitely not as simple as that. The book has various layers of storytelling, which initially make it hard to get hold of and invest in. The first person author narrative voice makes it clear the construction of the story is an artifice, and there are a lot of characters without much dedicated page time in the first half, which provides barriers to attachment and distinction.
One of the main protagonists is a writer and there's a lot about writing in the book, which I personally found really interesting, but is potentially another obstacle to a clear narrative reading experience.
And it takes nearly half the book for the plot about Thassa coming to the attention of first scientists and then the general public to actually get going.
But I'm glad I persevered, because I really enjoyed the second half, and there were a lot of fascinating discussion topics explored, as well as the story narrowing down to focus on a handful of great characters.
It lost me a bit towards the end, but it was a very interesting book overall, if a little difficult to get into.
But it's definitely not as simple as that. The book has various layers of storytelling, which initially make it hard to get hold of and invest in. The first person author narrative voice makes it clear the construction of the story is an artifice, and there are a lot of characters without much dedicated page time in the first half, which provides barriers to attachment and distinction.
One of the main protagonists is a writer and there's a lot about writing in the book, which I personally found really interesting, but is potentially another obstacle to a clear narrative reading experience.
And it takes nearly half the book for the plot about Thassa coming to the attention of first scientists and then the general public to actually get going.
But I'm glad I persevered, because I really enjoyed the second half, and there were a lot of fascinating discussion topics explored, as well as the story narrowing down to focus on a handful of great characters.
It lost me a bit towards the end, but it was a very interesting book overall, if a little difficult to get into.
