Everything is Illuminated
I'm reading this book that someone recommended to me, Everything is Illuminated. It is the second strangest book I have ever read. (The first strangest was Mumbo Jumbo by Ishmael Reed.) Its very post-modern, with three story lines woven together. It sort of reminds me of The Hours in that. I haven't decided yet if I will recommend it to others yet. It isn't graphic, per se, but it has parts that are rather crude and lewd. Even so, I am hooked on this book.Two of the three stories are narrated by a Ukrainian named Alex. Alex does not have the best grasp of the intricacies of the English language, which makes it great fun for me, the linguistical nerd, to read. He tends to use words with the correct denotation, but not quite the right connotation. Here are a few samples... They may not be nearly so amusing out of context.
When his train finally arrived, both of my legs were needles and nails from being an upright person for such a duration. I would have roosted, but the floor was very dirty, and I wore my peerless blue jeans to oppress the hero.
It made me a tickled-pink person to receive your letter, and to know that you are reinstated at university for your conclusive year. As for me, I still have two years of studies among the remnants. I do not know what I will perform after that. Many of the things you informed me in July are still momentous to me, like what you uttered about searching for dreams, and how if you have a good meaningful dream you are oblongated to search for it. This maybe cinchier for you, I must say.
I toiled very hard on the next section. It was the most rigid yet.
I wonder how many of the mix-ups I do not even catch.
posted by CP @ 3:55 PM
3 thoughts
3 Comments:
nice blockquote work
I have the hardest time teaching English as a Foreign language because my students will say things like that (on a much simpler level of course) and you can understand them perfectly, but something's just not quite right :))
nice blockquote work, indeed.
let me say i would not want to read this book. it seems like a lot of concentrating. but i have a funny story about a ukrainian that my sister told me once.
her ex-boyfriend's brother, i believe, was in a bar once and struck up with a conversation with a woman who turned out to be gold-medal winning figure skater oksana baiul (of the ukraine). he didn't realize this at the time, though, and asked her what she did for a living. baiul said, "i'm a world-class figure skater. what do you do?"
my sister's ex-boyfriend's brother, probably a little buzzed and apparently not terribly impressed, replied, "I'm a world-class dentist."
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