“You’re not the Han Solo in this relationship, you know.” She looked up at him, her eyes shiny and black, then looked away. Movies show up as metaphor and character development: Song lyrics and comic book quotes are significant to the narrative. This isn’t Rowell showing off with obscure knowledge or name-dropping just for the sake of adding “local color.” Eleanor and Park bond while trading pop culture likes and dislikes. E & P may as well be I Love the ’80s: 1986 (and I mean this in a really good way). The text is littered with references to movies, television shows, comics, novels, bands, people, places and things. What makes Rowell’s voice really special is that she speaks the language of pop culture. Her sentences have a simple cadence, a kind of spare yet punchy musicality. The novel is written in third person limited from both Eleanor and Park’s perspectives in alternating sections. Over multiple readings, Rainbow Rowell’s voice holds up incredibly well.
That doesn’t mean though that I can’t think critically about the work time and revisiting the text-a re-read of the final copy and a listen of the audiobook-have certainly sharpened my reading and there is a lot to discuss. That won’t go away, at least not any time soon. And then there are those who say that it’s just not that good.įor the record, I still love this book. With E & P in particular it’s been difficult to avoid all critical commentary, but my completely non-empirical understanding is that race, historical context and accuracy have been among the issues raised. Where there is high praise though, backlash will follow. ( Eleanor & Park is also on the Horn Book’s Fanfare, Publishers Weekly’s Best Books, and Kirkus’ Best Teen Books.) Most notable is that her novels appear together on SLJ‘s and the New York Times‘ best lists. And if that isn’t impressive enough for you, Rowell’s other YA novel published this year, Fangirl, is also a critical success with five stars of its own. It’s a New York Times bestseller, has five starred reviews, and John Green has given the book a glowing recommendation in the New York Times Book Review. Since I read it as a digital galley last year, E & P has blown up.
Before we delve into Rowell’s novel, let’s get back to the future for a moment.
0 kommentar(er)
