I read The Events of October shortly after arriving at K, and so did my mom, and we have spent a lot of time discussing it. Maybe not in the context of narrative journalism but, point being, I have done a lot of reflection on this narrative. Just a few brief things that I know many people will adress in short because I know everyone will be talking about them.
1. Gail's use of I. I have always struggled with where and when to insert myself into writing, especially in this course. This work is a great example of the effective and appropriate use of I. That being said, I am just curious as to what everyone thinks the effect of this book would be sans I? Obviously personal experience creates relevance but was anything sacrificed for the insertion of I? Is it ever?
2. I ran into some contamination issues just with my profile and I don't have nearly the relationship with this place that Gail did/does, how many of these issues did he run into when writing this book? How many seeped into the text? I am not skeptical of her writing, just interested to hear how she handled, what I think is, an obvious obstacle.
Finally, I have heard Gail speak on this subject several times at community reflections, and I have also had her as a professor. This may have corrupted her work in my mind but I could very clearly hear Gail in my head while reading this piece and that did wonders for the tone of this book. I want to say the tone is remorseful but I know that's not the right word. A hint of anger? I can't quite place it, but I know it's powerful. Maybe I can't put my finger on it because of the genre? Maybe it gets in the way of the genre? What do you think?
Can't wait to discuss.
-Woody
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