starting the book, I looked up metafiction, I was not exactly sure what it meant, Here is what Wikipedia says
Metafiction is a type of fiction that selfconsciously addresses the devices of fiction, It is the literary term describing fictional writing that selfconsciously and systematically draws attention to its status as an artifact in posing questions about the relationship between fiction and reality, usually, irony and selfreflection.
It can be compared to presentational theatre, which does not let the audience forget it is viewing a play metafiction does not let the reader forget he or she is reading a fictional work.
I was worried how a debut author could pull that off and why in the world would I be interested in reading something that always reminds me that I am reading fiction
The book starts with a marine corp.
and journalist taking a military assignment in the third word country, The author builds up a nice premise with some suspense and then suddenly Wham, he pops in and tells you the fate of all the characters in the book.
Now why would anyone be interested in reading the book after that But I kept on reading and trudging through all the military jargons to know what would happen next.
This was completely new territory to me, Heres an example of the metafiction element I am talking about,
“Father Atkinson” he called,
“No,” I reply, emerging from the dark,
Kick turns to his right, “Who the hell are you”
Nobody, ” I measure him up, wondering how he will react,
“You dont belong here,” he senses, “What the hell are you doing You are going to fuck everything up, ”
.
“Relax, no one is reading this, Do you know how hard it is for a firsttime author to get published Its just as hard to find an agent as it is for the agent to find a publisherharder in fact.
”
“Were not supposed to talk about the processabout him,” Kick whimpers,
“You mean the author His name is Ara, ”
I dont think just by saying its metafiction and that its a great book will make you want to read it.
So for that purpose alone I will have to introduce a spoiler here, But let me also specify that this spoiler in no way will hamper or lessen your reading experience,
“Please state your name for the record”
“God”
Yes, my dear friends, we have God on trial here.
Its not about whether God exists, its more about whether he is responsible for what happens in the world or not, Okay, enough, end of spoiler, Whether or not you agree with Aras point of view or the reasoning in the book, it definitely makes for an interesting read.
The characters are constantly uprooted from one scene to another, Its the kind of book that pushes the readers boundaries and forces the reader to think beyond the traditional notions of what a novel is.
Aras sense of humor is situational, intelligent and the kind that makes you think, How does he come up with all this stuff.
Heres the only example I found which is not a spoiler
At this point, I would like to address you, the reader.
I have provided some blank space so that you can jot down any concepts lingering in your head, such as: “Wow, that was the most insightful stuff Ive ever read.
Now, I understand everything about everything,” or “what a pedantic piece of junk, Thank God I am almost done with this book so I can move on to the upcoming bestseller, .
All said and done, let me also tell you that this book is not for everyone, Read it if you want to read something really unique and intelligent, If you do get your hands on this book, please be patient for the firstpages, the rest will be worth it,
Drawers amp Booths won an IPPYthe worlds largest international book awards competition, independent or otherwise, Aracompeted against releases from production houses such as, Harvard, Princeton, MIT, Yale, and other university presses, as well as Pulitzer finalist Dave Eggers production house, cSweeneys, and Barnes amp Nobles alliance press, iUniverse.
Aras novel was selected from,entrants representingcountries: Trinidad to Thailand, Croatia to Czech Republic, and France to Finland, Drawers amp Booths was one ofbooks to receive the moniker, “Outstanding Book of the Year,” and Ara won a Bronze Medal as “Storyteller of the Year.
” According toIndependent Publisher Book Awards, Araexhibits “the courage and creativity to take chances, break new ground, and bring about change, not only to the world of publishing, but to our society.
”
This review was originally posted at sitelink wordpress. com/ Arais God.
No, I don't mean that as in "ARA IS AWESOME!!!" Although I did enjoy this particular book, I mean it as a sort of conceit, Drawers amp Booths is not unlike an article I once read in The Onion called "VideoGame Character Wondering Why Heartless God Always Chooses 'Continue'.
" Or, look at it this way: in hispoem "Anecdote of the Jar," Wallace Stevens attempts to tackle the highly abstract issue of constructing reality, or what may be perceived as reality.
Was the poem's landscape even there before the jar, an artificial object of human creation, was placed on the hillside and the "wilderness rose up to it, / And sprawled around it no longer wild" Is it possible for anything setting, object, event to simply be without some sort of human input Are you confused yet Good!
Drawers amp Booths the title is pure nonsense, BTW is the one of the most mindbending books I have ever read.
I'm going to borrow from an Amazon review and describe it as one of those unpredictable funhouses full of weird mirrors and surprises around every corner.
Case in point: it actually starts out as a very boring military novel about a group of American soldiers stationed on an island nation.
But then the narrator whose name is actually Hattie Shore detaches himself from his omniscient storyteller role and things fall apart kind of like at the end of Mario Vargas Llosa's Aunt Julia and the Scriptwriter when .
An unexpected sojourn to Auschwitz reveals that Hattie Shore is also a police detective on the trail of a hardtograsp extradimensional criminal who has been carelessly wreaking havoc on the cosmos ever since.
. . He created the cosmos.
Basically, humans invented divinity and then fell victim to their own creation as religion began to shape how they perceived the world.
In other words, human behavior and beliefs generate reality, and it is this Matrixlike worldview that fits so beautifully with Ara's use of a metafictional framework that makes the artificiality of his art glaringly obvious.
It is Ara's world, and Shore, Kick, Franklin, Marcus, Laughton, the Corporal, and God just "live" in it,
In short, God is essentially human, He only exists as the result of the collective human mind,
My only criticism would be the number of typos I found, although that is probably not entirely Ara's fault, Overall, Drawers amp Booths is not only a roundabout exercise of the intellect, but a humorous and wholly unpredictable story that continuously builds upon itself.
At onlypages, it is also very short, At the same time, however, it is definitely not for the casual reader seeking a conventional story with a linear flow and identifiable plot.
Not surprisingly, Arahimself is a highly unique character, despite his background in the conformist milieu that is the US Marine Corps, where he first honed his writing skills while serving as a military correspondent.
is his actual last name he had it legally changed,
Copy
sitelinkOriginal I was a little hesitant about this book when I agreed to review it.
I wasn't sure if it was going to be a book I would like, It is very different from what I usually read but the concept sounded very interesting, I am so glad I agreed to review it because it is truly the most creatively written book I have read in awhile.
The book begins on an island following a Marine combat journalist around a military base, You start getting very comfortable in this setting and start getting interested in the characters when the narrator jumps in and takes over the story.
Yes, the narrator. He takes the reader with on his search for the person behind all the horrors that happen, . . child molestation, genocide, war. It begins to read like a mystery novel, When the person is caught the book becomes a court room drama, ala Law amp Order and you will never believe who is on trial.
Such an interesting way of discussing and analyzing the horrors we see and who is responsible for what man does, This was my
first truly metafictional book and I really enjoyed it, I look forward to reading more books by Ara, Thanks for sending it my way, This is crazy funny book, I think i read it so fast and i kept chuckling throught! a great caper of writing and it pulls you in and pokes fun all at the same time.
On the one hand, I put this book aside because the military story was boring, I don't read military stories, Drawers amp Booths caught my eye due to promises of the metafiction, evolutionary psychology, and philosophical discussion, In my opinion, the good parts started aboutinto the book I read it on Kindle, After taking time off to read a different novel, I opened Drawers amp Booths again, and enjoyed it immensely, So, on one hand I give itbut only my reaction for hating war stories, and on the other hand I give it.
for creativity, cheekiness, and intellectual discourse, This type of outofthebox thinking is refreshing,
One more observation: the characters struck me very differently than in other novels I've read, In a good escapist novel, the characters are flesh and blood, and take on a life of their own outside the author, In Drawers amp Booths, the characters are sketched, like a graphic novel, or comic book, This doesn't detract from the experience it made the reading a unique experience, I found no emotional involvement, as the story must have been rendered totally in the left side of my brain, Very different reaction on my brain's part which I enjoy every now and then, Beginning as a modern military civil affairs action, Drawers amp Booths spirals into a metafictional journey, testing the boundaries of reader and author, narrative voice, and characterizationthe wrapping for Ara's satirical analysis of morality in light of evolutionary psychology.
Arais aIPPY Outstanding Book of the Year winner, a recipient of an Eric Hoffer Book Award, and a Marine Corps journalist awarded medals from four branches of the U.
S. military. Arais aIPPY "Outstanding Book of the Year" winner, a recipient of an Eric Hoffer Book Award, and a Marine Corps journalist awarded medals from four branches of the U.
S. military. sitelink.
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