A Strange ~~Feeling~~ Experience From Two Books In a Row
Minor Spoilers for The Great Gatsby and The Ministry of Time. Mostly about genre and structure. If you know nothing about either book and plan on reading them, go read them first.
I recently read The Ministry of Time by Kaliane Bradley. I liked it and wanted to review it, but I had a strange experience reading it and my review wasn't working. While I waffled trying to get it right, I started and finished The Great Gatsby. The Great Gatsby gave me the same strange feeling that The Ministry of Time did. So instead of reviewing them individually, I'm instead going to talk about, and try to figure out, this strange feeling I got from reading them.
I've been using the word 'feeling,' but I'm not sure if that is quite right. Maybe 'occurrence.' Maybe 'event.' Maybe... I don't know. I guess 'experience' is the best word.
Compared to my normal reading habits, I devoured these books. I stayed up later than I should have on multiple occasions. Every time I picked the book up it took effort to put it down. The pages kept turning.
I usually read at a bit of leisurely pace. I read too many books that I feel like I should read instead of books that I want to read. I enjoy the majority of what I read, but more often than not, it feel like I'm slogging than cruising.
Reading one book, much less two in a row, that flew by was a welcome change from a four book omnibus that I wasn't that into.
However, the weird thing is, I don't think I actually liked them that much.
During and after reading both of them, I recognized that I wasn't much enjoying the plot/story, but still couldn't find myself able to stop reading. I enjoyed reading the books, but didn't care for their content so much.
I don't really know what to make of that.
The easy answer, I think, is that both books are objectively great works of art that are masterfully written. Personally, the genre and story just aren't something that resonates with me.
That makes sense, but doesn't sit right in my gut. My gut says something stranger is going on. It feel like there's something more that I can't put my finger on, or even really gesture at.
I went into The Ministry of Time knowing nothing about it. I knew it was popular from the amount of shelves I'd seen it on, so on a whim I put it on my wishlist and received a copy for Christmas. It was not what I expected. I expected high action, maybe a spy thriller. Instead, The Ministry of Time is basically a cozy drama with some sprinkling of romance and action. I wouldn't have bothered with it had I known this, but it was a pleasant surprise. It has a great setting for a slice-of-life drama. I enjoyed the coziness. The lack of plot was weird, but not especially disappointing. I guess what kept me turning pages was the setting and prose.
I can't really say I didn't like The Ministry of Time. I'd absolutely recommend it. But only for people who like a cozy drama. Which I don't really, but I did enjoy myself, but I also wouldn't read it again, and just feel kinda mid about it overall.
Ugh.
It's nebulous.
On paper, I enjoyed reading it in the moment, there are a bunch of qualities that I liked, and there are only a few nit-picks. On paper, this should be a glowing recommendation. But every time I think about it, I'm just left feeling nothing particular about it.
The Great Gatsby was different and the same. I went into it having seen the movie and knowing that it is beloved. It had been on my TBR for a while. It recently got a bump to first place after seeing it on a 'minimalist literature' list (a style I've been meaning to read some examples of) and being invited to a 1920s party.
Reading it, I had the same experience of enjoying every moment that I couldn't put it down, but in the end thinking, "eh, it was alright."
Now that I think about it, they feel much like exactly the same book, structurally. The first 80% is character drama, and the bulk of the plot events happen in the last 20%.
I think that might be a clue to what it is that is confusing me. Additionally, while verifying that Gatsby is set in the 20s, I saw it labeled as a tragedy. Maybe I don't like tragedies.
I much enjoy the cozy, slice-of-life prose. I enjoy the lead up to a tragic event, but in the end, I find a tragic ending unsatisfying.
Shit. I'm lame. That's the whole point. The feeling I'm confused about is exactly the purpose of a tragedy.
I'm confused why I enjoyed myself the entire time and then at the end feel bummed out and indifferent.
facepalm
You're lucky (or not) that I find this more humorous than embarrassing.
I guess I haven't experienced many good tragedies.
Now that I understand them, I don't know if I like the genre or not.
I can definitely appreciate them, but I can't say I'd seek them out. Then again, I think they're best when you don't see them coming. I had no idea The Ministry of Time was a tragedy. While I'd seen The Great Gatsby movie, it had been a while, I didn't really understand it when I saw it, and I retained little memory of it. I forgot that it was a tragedy. If I'd know they would end in tragedy from the start, I think I would have just been waiting for whatever was going to happen to happen and not enjoy the journey to get there.
In the end, for both books, now that I understand what I was made to feel, I think the journey was worth the tragic end. And maybe, tragedy is truly the only ways to end a good slice-of-life novel anyways.
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