SH Comments
Reged: Feb 16 2004
Posts: 1056
|
|
This thread is for comments about Brownman, by Carol Scavella Burrell
|
cyanocorax
New user
Reged: May 22 2007
Posts: 2
|
|
I could say the story is haunting but that would kind of be a given, right? Of course I love it, not the least because it is so different (in some ways) from Burrell's other work.
There's so much going on here -- coming of age, the thin line between reality and fantasy, the richness of the source culture, family dynamics, racial inequality. And of course the language and setting make it very tangible. I imagine it took a lot of time to research and write just for those. I'm still trying to understand the ending.
In fact, so much is packed into a two part story I wonder if it should have been a novella. Or maybe that's part of the appeal, that it is so dense it has more impact.
|
amedia
New user
Reged: May 22 2007
Posts: 2
|
|
>I could say the story is haunting but that would kind of be >a given, right?
One of the coolest elements of the story IMHO is how NOT haunting it is, at least at first. The narrator inhabits a world in which the line between the living and nonliving, human and other, is quite blurry, and she's perfectly at home in that world. Little Charlie's matter-of-fact acceptance of the supernatural makes it the first section far less frightening than it would be otherwise - but in the second section, when Little Charlie does get scared, the reader is MORE scared, because for something to rattle this feisty little girl it must be REALLY scary!
>the thin line between reality and fantasy
In fact, I have a feeling that line-crossing and living with the other, as opposed to eliminating otherness, is going to turn out to be one of the biggest themes here.
>I'm still trying to understand the ending.
I'm glad I'm not the only one. I want to go back and reread the whole thing; it has a richness that I'm sure will reward multiple readings.
|
Anei
New user
Reged: May 23 2007
Posts: 3
|
|
I was impressed by this piece - the tiny details that contributed to the ambiance were fantastic.
I was slightly confused by the sudden change in Bo's attitude though. I got the impression that he didn't ever really want to work in his family's store, but he accepted the job when his returning to his childhood home was dependent upon it. But he also then seems to fall willingly into the family pattern, the pattern that Charlie seems to want to break free from, although she ultimately decides to wait out her childhood and gamble on her future independence. Would Bo have paved over the swampland if given the chance?
Also, I thought the mawby woman seems to think that further development of swampland would only "release" the brownman more. I get the impression that she feels that releasing the brownman is a *bad* thing - "They keep cutting and building, like that gonna tame him, and they forgot things got to balance, him there, we here. It don't beat him back, just sets him free. That swamp is out of control." Is the brownman a representation of the swampland that is trying to be oppressed? Or is it an ostensible representation of some other natural force trying to elbow it's way into the area?
|
Klio
New user
Reged: Sep 12 2006
Posts: 3
|
|
Quote:
I was slightly confused by the sudden change in Bo's attitude though. I got the impression that he didn't ever really want to work in his family's store, but he accepted the job when his returning to his childhood home was dependent upon it. But he also then seems to fall willingly into the family pattern, the pattern that Charlie seems to want to break free from, although she ultimately decides to wait out her childhood and gamble on her future independence.
Thank you (and everyone) for your feedback. It's always easy for me to second-guess a story after it's committed to print (or pixels) and to want to refine it. Bo does turn into a case of how easy it can be to give in to some predetermined path. But I'll hold off from trying to explaining myself any further, since a story really should stand without the author hovering at its side....
- CB.
|
amedia
New user
Reged: May 22 2007
Posts: 2
|
|
Is the brownman a representation of the swampland that is trying to be oppressed? Or is it an ostensible representation of some other natural force trying to elbow it's way into the area?
That's a good question, Anei. My first thought would be to take him at his word - he claims to contain the souls of all the perished trees, and so the more they pave over the swampland, the more tree souls will strengthen him.
[It reminded me a little bit of a weird passage in Revelation (actually, ALL the passages in Revelation are weird) where the souls under the altar are crying out for vengeance, but a bunch of other martyrs have to die first before anything can be done.]
OTOH, we might not want to take him at his word. The author indicates other associations for him - paregoric and Communion wine - i.e. opium and alcohol in acceptable (but still possibly dangerous) forms. I'm not sure what that should mean... any ideas?
|
cyanocorax
New user
Reged: May 22 2007
Posts: 2
|
|
Now my head officially hurts. I think Brownman embodies the greed inherent in the control freakiness of humans (men especially). At first I thought it didn't make sense he wanted Charlie to destroy his home with development. When mawby lady says the swamp is out of control, I think she's likening the situation to Bo and his wife -- greedy attempts to control just make things worse.
The sudden about-face by Bo didn't bother me as much, because he quickly found a way to twist the situation to his own advantage (pleasing his father, of course). And their greed just feeds the Brownman more.
|
Anei
New user
Reged: May 23 2007
Posts: 3
|
|
Quote:
I think Brownman embodies the greed inherent in the control freakiness of humans (men especially). At first I thought it didn't make sense he wanted Charlie to destroy his home with development. When mawby lady says the swamp is out of control, I think she's likening the situation to Bo and his wife -- greedy attempts to control just make things worse.
The way I see it, the swamp is more of a representation of the byproduct of the "greed inherent" in humanity that is destroying the wooded area in the forest. The more I think about it, the more I see the Brownman as a representation of that greed. What his feelings for or relationship with the swamp is, I don't know. His endeavor is foolish - the more trees that get "killed", the less he has to gain. Not to get into the physics of a completely theoretical entity, but I'd imagine that once there are no more tree souls left, he'd go wanting in a pretty bad way (i.e. if they are used as some sort of cosmic energy, like we would eat food, or fill our cars with gas), unless of course, that's not the way it works. The swamp is just a byproduct that can be fairly icky - it *does* ruin socks, after all. After all the trees are dead, would he move on to acres of swampland? Overall, I think it's a good message, and a fairly interesting vessel. I hope I can convey something this specifically poignant at some point :)
|
Previous
Index
Next
Threaded
Edit
Reply
Quote
