NP - Cat Person

[Becky Lindroos]

Thanks for calling attention to the story,  Mark.     I rather enjoyed it and agree with Laura’s comments -  it’s spot-on but I must add that it’s spot on from the point of view of probably most women who have dated much since high school.   The author is getting inside the head of an immature young college girl who is messing with a lonely old man  (old to her).  

I’m sure that the same story as written by Jonathan Franzen and from Robert’s point of view would be quite different.  "What is with this girl who invites herself over to my house…”   and so on.   Robert would be suave and gentle and all good things and she would be a weird tease or something.   

 And John Bailey,  "- the protagonist's isn't the authorial view, for instance, and the moral ambiguities of the piece aren't necessarily a fault.”    Yup -  lol  (I can’t help the lol  - I’m a girl.)  


Becky
https://beckylindroos.wordpress.com

> On Dec 11, 2017, at 1:01 PM, John Bailey <sundayjb at gmail.com> wrote:
> 
> It's made a lot of men (and some women) very angry. It's a short story
> that's gone viral (the first?) and so opinions are many.
> As Mark mentioned the other weird thing is that some people are
> calling it an 'article' or 'essay' rather than fiction, and responding
> as such. Which is bizarre in itself, but also makes discussing it
> harder because there's a few Eng Lit 101 things that are skipped over
> - the protagonist's isn't the authorial view, for instance, and the
> moral ambiguities of the piece aren't necessarily a fault.
> 
> On Tue, Dec 12, 2017 at 6:46 AM, Laura Kelber <laurakelber at gmail.com> wrote:
>> A very astute, well-written, dead-on accurate rendering of thoughts and
>> feelings that most women who've dated have experienced, more or less. But
>> that very accuracy renders it less memorable. I gather that men experience
>> this story in a different way?
>> 
>> Laura
>> 
>> On Mon, Dec 11, 2017 at 6:53 AM, Mark Kohut <mark.kohut at gmail.com> wrote:
>>> 
>>> Reminds --in immediate diverse responses, including the will-never-die
>>> confusion of fiction with non-fiction by many readers--of Shirley
>>> Jackson's
>>> New Yorker story, The Lottery.
>>> 
>>> John is so right about it being some kind of cultural symbol as well
>>> as a short story. I love 'is shit...
>>> 
>>> Sent from my iPhone
>>> 
>>>> On Dec 11, 2017, at 3:07 AM, John Bailey <sundayjb at gmail.com> wrote:
>>>> 
>>>> If you've heard anything about this New Yorker short story (or if you
>>>> haven't) it's worth reading now before you develop too many
>>>> preconceptions. I've never seen a piece of fiction trend on Twitter,
>>>> inspire memes, and turn social media into a place for passionate
>>>> literary debate from both pro- and anti- camps. I certainly
>>>> flip-flopped many times while reading it myself, but I think it's very
>>>> helpful to go in without knowing what to expect. You'll hear people
>>>> talking about it soon.
>>>> https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2017/12/11/cat-person
>>>> -
>>>> Pynchon-l / http://www.waste.org/mail/?list=pynchon-l
>>> -
>>> Pynchon-l / http://www.waste.org/mail/?list=pynchon-l
>> 
>> 
> -
> Pynchon-l / http://www.waste.org/mail/?list=pynchon-l

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Pynchon-l / http://www.waste.org/mail/?list=pynchon-l