tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11838465.post6981541911837736532..comments2024-02-24T18:30:26.749-07:00Comments on prairiemary: "VERONICA" BY GAITSKILL MEETS "THE ELEVENTH MAN" BY DOIGUnknownnoreply@blogger.comBlogger3125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11838465.post-83008415476964324772009-06-16T17:58:13.127-06:002009-06-16T17:58:13.127-06:00The Doorkeepers of both Manhattan and Montana are ...The Doorkeepers of both Manhattan and Montana are plain old Tards.<br /><br />Life is bigger than that.Unknownhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01029411617668309369noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11838465.post-33711583349710638412009-06-16T13:31:19.019-06:002009-06-16T13:31:19.019-06:00That would be Robert Gopher (Robert?), right, and ...That would be Robert Gopher (Robert?), right, and his family outside Great Falls?Chas S. Cliftonhttp://www.chasclifton.com/blogger.htmlnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11838465.post-50249099829949659052009-06-15T14:24:40.814-06:002009-06-15T14:24:40.814-06:00Great comment by Francine Prose; I'm sorry she...Great comment by Francine Prose; I'm sorry she steps away from it. <br /><br />I just now realized that the truth she speaks is exactly why I just hated Sue Miller's <i>The Good Mother.</i> When the book was published, I had a heated discussion with a feminist professor friend, who was convinced that the plot demonstrated the oppressiveness of patriarchy.<br /><br />I objected to the plot's being loaded with situation after situation in which the heroine got herself in deeper and deeper. As I read, I kept thinking, <i>Why are you so dumb?</i> The heroine's choices just lacked credibility, and she winds up losing custody of her young daughter to her ex. I could not relate to the plot -- or find any eternal truths in it -- because it was so contrived. I don't consider myself any exemplar of good sense, either; this heroine was an idiot.<br /><br />I find Gaitskill's writing chilling because her characters are real. We might wish they weren't, but they are. If we're honest with ourselves, as we go back and forth between Gaitskill's story and what we ourselves have known, we find that she's telling the truth.Diggitthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16416825000872117152noreply@blogger.com