I
have many comments, but I have a question that seems the most
important: what's the significance of pages 108 - 111? Why do Oskar's
father and mother (I'm pretty sure they're his parents, at least someone
he's related to) never talk about the past? This connects to the next
chapter, right? Also, what's the significance of the Something and
Nothing Places? Overall, is there a part of this couple's life Oskar
never knew about that affected their relationships with him?
All the chapters titled "Why I'm Not Where You Are" or "My Feelings" are narrated by Oskar's grandfather and grandmother, respectively, not his parents. The grandfather addresses his passages, written in the '60s, to "my unborn child"--Oskar's father.
ReplyDeleteThe something and nothing places are one of the grandparents' ways of making life bearable. They're not comfortable is their marriage, and they both feel helpless to control so much of their lives that they try give things order with rules. They're both introverted and wrapped up in their pasts, and the something and nothing spaces allow them to escape and have the illusion of privacy and safety. But because the spaces are used to avoid the problems rather than fix them, their marriage only gets worse and they never come to understand each other.