It's been some time since I've blogged about my many and varied literary adventures. Be sure that I haven't stopped reading--it's just that I've been reading so much in an effort to keep up with these people that I've lost the will to live. I mean write. However, as a post-test treat, we've been reading Life of Pi and the intentionally ambiguous ending(s) got us thinking about (and, in the case of my AP students, writing a 5-page paper about) 'what makes a good story?'
I absolutely love Life of Pi. And it didn't hurt my ego one bit to be validated by comments from my students such as "This is my new favorite book!" and "I could not stop reading," and "I'm so frustrated with the ending!@#!" After much deliberation, the general consensus is that this is a 'good story'.
I think a good story has a number of functions--all of which involve action on the part of the reader. The list (as I see it):
#1 A good story causes you to question your beliefs. One of Pi's most endearing characteristics is that he never stops questioning the world around him. Why do I think this? How do I know this? Why would I do that? And the best part about it is that his beliefs are solidified as a result of his questioning. He doesn't question in an effort to disprove his beliefs, he does so to strengthen them. Can any of us really accept holding onto a belief that can't stand up to our own internal questioning? Isn't that just...brainwashing? David Ebershoff's historical novel The 19th Wife (which I just read for my book club) is the fascinating tale of Ann Eliza Young, Brigham Young's 19th wife, and her internal and external struggles with polygamy. She is eventually unable to reconcile her belief in Joseph Smith's vision to the crude and oppressive practice of plural wifery and escapes Utah to help chart the path towards legal justification for the abolishment of this type of slavery in America. As I read, though, I was forced to confront my own faith and beliefs in comparison to what I consider to be the illogical and manipulative tactics of Mormonism. Like Pi, my own questioning functioned to further strengthen that which I hold to be true.
#2 A good story transplants you in another world. It is a well-known fact that I love Harry Potter. I'm not afraid to admit it and I was recently "roasted" concerning this apparent obsession of mine in an all-school assembly. Which only serves to make me happy and not embarrassed. Why is HP the shelf that literary genius will be reaching for and not quite touching for the foreseeable future? It is simple. Because Rowling created a world no one can resist. That doesn't mean that there aren't other amazingly well-written and life-changing tomes being published and cherished on a regular basis. It doesn't mean that there aren't thousands or even millions of pages of prose dedicated to creating new worlds in our minds. But Harry Potter is literally magical. And Rowling makes her readers long for it to be real. She pulls the Hogwarts Express right up to your door and hollers at you to get on before it's too late. And, of course, you do.
#3 A good story engages you in problem solving. Have you read the Dragon Tattoo books? I'm about half-way through the third book and despite the cacophony of similar looking Swedish names they can really draw you into the action. Another recent read of mine, Karen Russell's Swamplandia!, is a tale so simultaneously tall and probable that I found myself teetering on the fence deciding if it was fantasy or not. It's the story of Ava Bigtree, the youngest in a familial line of lady alligator wrestlers and her journey to save her sister from a bad marriage to a ghost. All the while trying to save the family theme park. Every problem lays out an array of possible solutions--some concrete and others vague--begging the reader to help in deciphering the clues and putting the mystery to rest.
My job is many things--most of which I love--and I will tell you honestly that nary a day goes by that I do not come home with a good story.
