NP - Cat Person

Tue Dec 12 23:01:01 CST 2017

You may be right. It just left me with a skin-crawly feeling.

J

On Tue, Dec 12, 2017 at 11:45 PM, Mark Kohut <mark.kohut at gmail.com> wrote:

> Everything you say about the female protagonist is why it is a f'in good
> story.....
>
> On Tue, Dec 12, 2017 at 7:42 PM, Mark Thibodeau <jerkyleboeuf at gmail.com>
> wrote:
>
>> Hey, I lol all the time!
>>
>> (On Monday I wrote)
>> I'm halfway through the story now, and finding it uncomfortably familiar
>> in terms of a mind over-revving re: what other people are thinking.
>>
>> (Now it's Tuesday)
>> I just finished the story.
>>
>> It has good points and bad points.
>>
>> Good points: It certainly is compelling and propulsive... it carries you
>> along like a strong river current. And stylistically it's got a certain
>> "chick lit Hemingway" thing going for it that I kind of dug.
>>
>> Bad points:
>>
>> For all its supposed bravery and honesty, I found Margot to be
>> unbelievably portrayed, almost superhumanly thoughtful and blameless as a
>> Hindu cow - there were moments when her behavior and thoughts could very
>> easily be seen/portrayed as cruel, but Roupenian's strategy is always to
>> forgive Margot by portraying her as flighty and "millennial" and just too
>> darn thoughtful for her own darn good. Meanwhile, Robert's mid-story
>> transformation from overgrown Asperger-y nebish into a wannabe porn star,
>> and his last minute transformation into an obsessive hate-spewing demon, to
>> be trite and gimmicky and unnecessarily cruel.
>>
>> Also, why is Ms Perfect Skin-and-Boobs creeping on walking disasters like
>> the Senor Cat Piss in the first fucking place? It's like the character was
>> fishing for a sexual horror story as grist for her first year creative
>> writing course mill or something.
>>
>> Yeah. No. Upon further reflection, I don't think I like this story very
>> much at all. And NOT because I subconsciously "see myself in Robert", as
>> most of the online misandrist cant relating to this story seems to imply as
>> being the source of any critique of it.
>>
>> I think if it was any longer than it is, I would be even angrier with it
>> than I already am, for having wasted my time.
>>
>> Jerky
>>
>> On Mon, Dec 11, 2017 at 11:02 PM, Becky Lindroos <bekah0176 at sbcglobal.net
>> > wrote:
>>
>>> 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
>>>
>>> -
>>> Pynchon-l / http://www.waste.org/mail/?listpynchon-l
>>>
>>
>>
>
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