I think that on the surface most would say that the story of Holmes would be the more interesting one. The story of the architect Burnham could be just as enganging but Larson's simple style of writing without dialogue prohibits that. I would love to hear more about the fair and the people involved than boring facts that seem to be there just as fillers. I felt detached from the characters throughout most of the story, maybe due to the lack of dialogue . The beginning of the book was so hard to get through because Larson's writing was so unimiginative and tiresome. What do you guys think, Should his writing have been more animated and creative, were those various facts necessary?
Jason
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3 comments:
I thought the book was effective. I do agree that some of the descriptions of the landscape seemed like fillers, but I thought that the story was solid.
I completely agree that Holmes's story was more interesting, and I really do think that the two stories were not very closely tied together. I kept waiting for some key element along the lines of Holmes killing Burnham or something like that, but it never came. I think the author's point was in keeping the two stories in one book was to show the time period.
I did feel like I knew the architects. I thought the author spent enough time with them to let me know them. I wasn't bothered by the lack of dialog. I liked knowing that they really wrote every word that was in quotes.
I agree with Jonah in the fact that the two stories were not closely tied, but I feel differently about what I felt were the most interesting parts of the book.
I was MUCH more interested in the architecture than the Holmes story line. I felt like sociopaths are a commonplace theme in current literature and media, nothing new. The amazing feats accomplished by the team of architects however are some of the most incredible things I have ever read about.
Maybe it's just because I come from a family of architects, but I waited with baited breath to see if the buildings would get up in time and if the White City would fulfill it's dream like prophecy.
In response to Jason's comment, the book couldn't contain dialouge because it's non fiction, therefore he would have had to invent the majority of the dialouge. Also, if Larson had not spent such a large amount explaining the planning and building process, the final result(the fair) would not have made such a large impact on the readers.
Personally,the two seeminlgy unconnected stories had a big effect on my understanding of the subject: To powerful, determined, creative men both choosing to use their powers for good or evil. They were similar and contrasting at the same time. I thought this symbolized America during this time: wanting to be powerful and successfull, but so crimeridden at the same time.
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