Book: Paolo Bacigalupi, Ship Breaker, Chapters 20-25 (end)
How did this work make you feel? Explain.
Most of this book felt very suffocating and mechanical to me, which was fitting given that the characters were all living off scavenging ship parts. Most of the characters were morally reprehensible, but as I said a few posts ago, justified in their actions given their desperate circumstances. It was difficult to get invested in anybody's story, even Nailer's. This made me feel like I could not trust anybody, and the climax of the story involving patricide but making it clear this was perfectly okay at every turn did nothing to lift the mood. As a result of the book's atmosphere, I ended up being more interested in the lore, wanting to know where the swanks (wealthy people not scavenging) are living, why some of the mutants are not tied to masters and some are, and what series of crises led to the world being in this state.
If you were a teacher, would you want to share this work with your students? Why or why not?
Although I was not a huge fan of Ship Breaker, I would be fine with students selecting it for independent reading. One of the biggest problems I had was that several plot threads are left loose for the sequel, and the book is also quite long, so I would have trouble fitting it in to a busy school year. Also, I think the morality in the story is not delved into deeply enough for me to want to teach it, and the reading level seemed quite a bit higher than I would expect many students to be at outside of 11th-12th grade Honors. Students seeking an action-packed dystopian novel with a lot of gritty scenery and dialogue might enjoy it, and I'd encourage them to read it.
I read someone else's blog on this book and thought it was just a story of a copper thief and gangs. Mutants and swanks and patricide, though? That sounds wild. I share your same sentiments about being apprehensive about teaching texts you're not a fan of, but I guess the idea is to break out of your comfort zone (I think that's what we're supposed to do all of our lives, right? WINKY FACE). In any case, reading this from a moral perspective might be a good idea if you just take passages since you say it's quite long.
ReplyDeleteKyle's response made me smile--mutants and swanks and patricide, oh my! From the outside, this novel; does sound intriguing, but I can tell form your responses that it troubled you. That's okay. I am so glad you tried a book on that you weren't so comfortable in, but who knows, it may fit one of your students some day? You chose to finish it--how would you feel if a student chose not to finish a book? Are you okay with them just picking another one if the first one doesn't fit?
ReplyDeleteYes, I intentionally chose this book because I was iffy about it. My top choice (Gone) was written by one of my favorite authors, which would have been a fun read, but I already knew I would have liked it.
DeleteI am divided on students not finishing books, but it really depends on the context. Obviously, if it's a book the whole class is assigned to read, that is not going to fly unless there's a very good reason. However, if a student is able to recognize that they dislike a book and is willing to pick up another instead, I would consider that a positive. It shows that the student comprehends the book's themes and style well enough to know it is not appealing and that they can find what they are looking for elsewhere.