Seeing as the section I just read was kind of dull, I've decided instead to write about an interesting character I haven't yet mentioned. His name is AD. Well, kind of. For the first few chapters, Cliff referred to him as his 'alcoholic doctor friend' and thus he eventually turned into AD for short. I guess we never really learn his name (or maybe it's at the beginning and I just forgot, but I don't think so). This is a puzzling character because so far he hasn't actually appeared in the book, not counting a few short phone calls to him from Cliff. Instead, we learn about him by all the times Cliff talks about him and his strange wisdom. AD has a sort of pessimistic view on things, but doesn't seem to be an unhappy person. Also, the stories about him often include women and alcohol. AD's wisdom showed up once in the last section I read, when Cliff was discussing how his grandfather died penniless and with liver cancer. Cliff said, "My friend AD told me that it was not infrequent to see the aged devour their net worth in a forlorn attempt to stay alive" (176). As AD is a doctor, this opinion must be based on experience. At the same time, though, it's quite depressing and one has to wonder how this man who decided to help others for a living ended up being a pessimistic alcoholic.
Arizona, New Mexico and Utah were the only 3 states Cliff traveled through in the last 40 or so pages. In all honesty, it wasn't that memorable and I frequently got bored trying to read it. I do like this book quite a bit, but it's also hard to relate to seeing as I'm not a 60 year old man. Also, it seems like the plot is just dragging on. Cliff is still trying to avoid contact with Marybelle, his son Robert, and ex wife Vivian, continues to sleep in mediocre motels, and contemplate the same problems over and over while slowly making his way through the south-west. I guess this book is just different than what I'm used to because the rising action and climax aren't very visible. They aren't big action scenes or huge and obvious turning points. Although I doubt I've reached it, the plot climax is probably just going to be some revelation by Cliff or a reunion with his wife. In this way, this book is both a little bit dull but also just a new genre for me.
Harrison, Jim. The English Major. New York: Grove Press, 2008.
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1 comment:
Good Job! It's too bad that the book is boring, but as you said it is hard to relate to a sixty year old man. It is interesting how Cliff refers to his friend as his "alcoholic doctor friend" perhaps it is a joke or maybe that is all Cliff knows about him.
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