Thanks for your thoughts, Carolyn. I had a similar...

2009-11-02T00:29:35.307-05:00

Thanks for your thoughts, Carolyn. I had a similar experience reading Oscar Wao. It was somewhat annoying to be reading such long footnotes. They tended to intrude when a figure from Dominican history was named in the narrative. On the other hand, I wonder if I could have as fully appreciated the characters' motives in the absence of the commentary. I don't know Stroud's work, but will check it out.

I enjoyed Oscar Wao quite a lot, but I confess tha...

2009-10-29T11:06:37.726-04:00

I enjoyed Oscar Wao quite a lot, but I confess that sometimes I came back from a footnote that spanned multiple pages to find I had to reorient myself to the narrative. It made for a choppy experience.

I can't help but contrast that with the footnotes in Jonathan Stroud's Bartimaeus Trilogy which are hilarious comments from the title character. I looked forward to those comments. So, yes, footnotes, but fictive ones.

The study you mention would be interesting, indeed.

Comments on OnFiction: Footnotes to Literary Works

Thanks for your thoughts, Carolyn. I had a similar...

I enjoyed Oscar Wao quite a lot, but I confess tha...