Outstanding Exploration Of Human Emotions
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This book became more gripping the further into it I read. It describes the awkward 'relationship' between a Jewish author, Joshua Seigl and his new assistant Alma, who just happens to detest Jews.
Alma is a woman who has been abused continuously for most of her life, by various men, in various ways. During one of these abuses, several men drugged her and placed various red tattoos on her face and body, and it's this that the title alludes to.
Much of this story concerns Alma and Joshua's silent thoughts about each other, and it is in these passages that Joyce Carol Oates excels at keeping the reader's interest, be it through humour, honesty, or just the admirable feat of getting right to the crux of human attitudes and emotions towards various issues. Sexuality, religion, and class are all subjects which are touched on, both from Joshua and Alma's point of view.
The story has various interesting plot developments, but what kept me particularly riveted was Alma's almost unhinged vengeance, and her utterly vicious thoughts about her unsuspecting employer. The way in which men view Alma, who, despite her tattoos, is described as an attractive young woman, is also interesting to read. Joshua himself begins to harbour feelings of curiosity and attraction towards the fascinating character of alma.
As a reader, I was able to tell that the story was buliding towards something dramatic, and I was not wrong. Ultimately, Oates is an incredibly engaging writer who has, with 'The Tattooed Girl', created a book that is not only dramatic, but suspenseful, imaginative, engaging, realistic, funny and sad, all at the same time. Joyce Carol Oates is undoubtedly a writer of considerable talent.
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From Anti-Heroine to Heroine
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I found this a challenging and painful read, yet also a testimony to the redemptive power of the human spirit. Seigl, a partly Jewish academic and one-time novelist employs Alma Bauch, a young woman from the margins of society as his housekeeper. Inured to abuse from men since childhood, even the tattoo's on Alma's neck are the result of a drugged abusive incident. For most of the novel we are let into Alma's virulent anti-Semitic thoughts which she shares with her abusive lover, Dimitri Meatte, a waiter at the local cafe. Seigl is struck down by a neurological condition while simultaneously Alma begins to realise the shaky foundations for her prejudices. As he becomes hospitalised and progressively ill, Alma's former murderous intentions are turned on their back as she waits in vigil at his bedside willing his recovery. The venom stripped away, Seigl's unspoken love for Alma is reciprocated. She rejects the hideous Meatte, who arrives out of the blue seeking money. The ending I found quite shocking, though I wouldn't want to ruin that pleasure for other readers. The Tattooed Girl challenged me to hold intense dislike for the actions and thoughts of Alma alongside empathy for her. I found this so difficult at one point I didn't think I could finish the novel. However, I am glad I did, as at the endpoint, Alma's outlook and sensibilities undergo a radical shake-up and she emerges a sympathetic character.
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Brilliantly Plotted Thought Exercise about Hate and Abuse
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If you want to read a book that uses delicate plotting to subtly expose many dimensions of the thinking of its two leading characters, you will find The Tattooed Girl to be a tour de force. Unfortunately, the two characters are people you may not identify with because they seem drawn more to create a hypothetical case (of the sort so fondly debated in laws schools) rather than people you have met or know. As a result, the book's powerful message in favor of connection and sharing falls short its potential punch. The reader is likely to come away glassy-eyed from the book's events, but not redirected in her or his behavior. Joshua Seigl is a man trying to hide from his own success, and finding it harder and harder to do so. In the course of the book, you'll find out the many reasons why he is hiding. The time comes to take on an assistant to help him with his papers, correspondence and occasional odd jobs around the house. Seigl rejects all kinds of qualified male applicants due to his own hypersensitive nature. Then, one day he meets an odd young woman struggling to do a simple job in a local bookstore. Despite her lack of qualifications other than being non-threatening, he hires her. Her submissiveness allows them to get along on the surface, but she develops a strong dislike for him that emerges into virulent anti-Semitism. Ms. Oates then takes us on a journey with them as they drop their public faces and begin to connect with one another, and the result is that their views of one another begin to reflect the inner realities of one another. Ms. Oates's theories are that we usually judge one another rather harshly based on appearances, behavior and our historical sense of what's what. Instead, she encourages us to drop our guard and let others know who we really are . . . and take the time to find out who they are. Think of this as being like "Get acquainted with others as you would like others to get acquainted with you" as a variation on the Golden Rule. Although there's an obvious religious message here, Ms. Oates mostly leaves religion out of her story . . . probably to make the potential lesson more accessible to people of all faiths and non-faith. This book would make a fine choice for a sophomore English class in high school as a launching pad for many fine discussions about the dangers of categorizing others. As I finished the book, I began to wonder to whom I had not properly explained myself . . . and to whom I had not properly listened. That was a valuable benefit from reading the fine writing in the book.
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Brilliantly Plotted Thought Exercise about Hate and Abuse
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If you want to read a book that uses delicate plotting to subtly expose many dimensions of the thinking of its two leading characters, you will find The Tattooed Girl to be a tour de force. Unfortunately, the two characters are people you may not identify with because they seem drawn more to create a hypothetical case (of the sort so fondly debated in laws schools) rather than people you have met or know. As a result, the book's powerful message in favor of connection and sharing falls short its potential punch. The reader is likely to come away glassy-eyed from the book's events, but not redirected in her or his behavior. Joshua Seigl is a man trying to hide from his own success, and finding it harder and harder to do so. In the course of the book, you'll find out the many reasons why he is hiding. The time comes to take on an assistant to help him with his papers, correspondence and occasional odd jobs around the house. Seigl rejects all kinds of qualified male applicants due to his own hypersensitive nature. Then, one day he meets an odd young woman struggling to do a simple job in a local bookstore. Despite her lack of qualifications other than being non-threatening, he hires her. Her submissiveness allows them to get along on the surface, but she develops a strong dislike for him that emerges into virulent anti-Semitism. Ms. Oates then takes us on a journey with them as they drop their public faces and begin to connect with one another, and the result is that their views of one another begin to reflect the inner realities of one another. Ms. Oates's theories are that we usually judge one another rather harshly based on appearances, behavior and our historical sense of what's what. Instead, she encourages us to drop our guard and let others know who we really are . . . and take the time to find out who they are. Think of this as being like "Get acquainted with others as you would like others to get acquainted with you" as a variation on the Golden Rule. Although there's an obvious religious message here, Ms. Oates mostly leaves religion out of her story . . . probably to make the potential lesson more accessible to people of all faiths and non-faith. This book would make a fine choice for a sophomore English class in high school as a launching pad for many fine discussions about the dangers of categorizing others. As I finished the book, I began to wonder to whom I had not properly explained myself . . . and to whom I had not properly listened. That was a valuable benefit from reading the fine writing in the book.
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Brilliantly Plotted Thought Exercise about Hate and Abuse
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If you want to read a book that uses delicate plotting to subtly expose many dimensions of the thinking of its two leading characters, you will find The Tattooed Girl to be a tour de force. Unfortunately, the two characters are people you may not identify with because they seem drawn more to create a hypothetical case (of the sort so fondly debated in laws schools) rather than people you have met or know. As a result, the book's powerful message in favor of connection and sharing falls short its potential punch. The reader is likely to come away glassy-eyed from the book's events, but not redirected in her or his behavior. Joshua Seigl is a man trying to hide from his own success, and finding it harder and harder to do so. In the course of the book, you'll find out the many reasons why he is hiding. The time comes to take on an assistant to help him with his papers, correspondence and occasional odd jobs around the house. Seigl rejects all kinds of qualified male applicants due to his own hypersensitive nature. Then, one day he meets an odd young woman struggling to do a simple job in a local bookstore. Despite her lack of qualifications other than being non-threatening, he hires her. Her submissiveness allows them to get along on the surface, but she develops a strong dislike for him that emerges into virulent anti-Semitism. Ms. Oates then takes us on a journey with them as they drop their public faces and begin to connect with one another, and the result is that their views of one another begin to reflect the inner realities of one another. Ms. Oates's theories are that we usually judge one another rather harshly based on appearances, behavior and our historical sense of what's what. Instead, she encourages us to drop our guard and let others know who we really are . . . and take the time to find out who they are. Think of this as being like "Get acquainted with others as you would like others to get acquainted with you" as a variation on the Golden Rule. Although there's an obvious religious message here, Ms. Oates mostly leaves religion out of her story . . . probably to make the potential lesson more accessible to people of all faiths and non-faith. This book would make a fine choice for a sophomore English class in high school as a launching pad for many fine discussions about the dangers of categorizing others. As I finished the book, I began to wonder to whom I had not properly explained myself . . . and to whom I had not properly listened. That was a valuable benefit from reading the fine writing in the book.
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