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March 22, 2005
OGIC: More elsewhere
The Little Professor has one of her chilling tales from the teaching front. I suspect these may be somewhat more amusing to us than to her. This particular story also reminded me of a wee shred of dialogue from last week's Arrested Development. Teenaged Mabey, discovering that her cousin is getting out of school for a day to go to a Christian camp, decides that perhaps she too should find religion.
Mabey: Do you know where I can get one of those gold chains with a T on it?
Michael (her uncle): Uh, Mabey, that's a cross.
Mabey: Across from what?
Meanwhile, Carrie at Tingle Alley is especially prolific of late, which is always good news in my book. Highlights include an impromptu Division I game of Humiliation and this reflection on James Woods, Marilynne Robinson, and the problem (or not) of the good protagonist. This last item is especially interesting to me right now, as I'm working on reviews of one new novel that takes on this challenge explicitly, with mixed results, and another that follows what some would call the easier, or at least better-traveled, road of employing a protagonist who is pretty much defined by his flaws. I'll have more to say about this when these reviews are finished and printed. For now I'll just note that the latter book seems, on a first consideration, to give me more to grapple with as a reader--more sustenance. Whether these impressions hold up to closer scrutiny, and how much they reflect the relative goodness of the characters, are questions I'll be trying to work out in writing the reviews.
Posted March 22, 2005 3:45 AM
