I enjoyed the plot and the language that the author uses in Teen Sniper. First, the plot was unique. I would never have imagined a teenage boy being employed as a sniper. I wonder about his parents. I worry about his development socially, emotionally and physically (especially as he pounds back the pop). I did feel for the character probably as a mother, because I want him to succeed and I want someone to look out for this kid. Lt. Kim is the closest thing that this boy has to a parent and that is worrisome given that her advice seems to be what suits his profession rather than to further develop his self-image and personality.
The Sniper uses plain language in a fresh way. I love the line "and there's only so many ways to show affection with a rifle." (22). It really speaks to the boys disconnect from reality. He is being trained to not feel empathy so that it is easier for him to take the shot. The scene at Seema's house is tense and rushed which is perfect to show the nature of the sniper and how dramatic his transformation is in the end. I thought that his reversal in the end shows that he is maturing. The death of his friend (robot) ROMS helped to speed up his maturation that seemed to be stunted in the beginning.
I enjoyed reading this story. I was engulfed in it the entire time and the ending worked for me.
TAPKA
I found Tapka to be a nice sentimental short story. I was not entirely moved by the plot. I found it slow in some parts. I found the characters to be believable and complex. The relationship the dog shared with the humans in its life made me even care for the dog itself.
I did find that the ending was a little obscure. I was unsure how Tapka was going to live. Was the doctor going to do the work for free? Also, in the end it mentions that the boy does kill Tapka....he does not but it is supposed to be symbolic or metaphoric and I really do not know what to make of that line. The boy truly does love Tapka and he is not granted forgiveness for the obvious accident that he created. I am left wanting things to have a better resolution. I am left feeling like it was unfinished.
TRAVIS, B.
I found this story odd. I was captured by anticipation of the possibilities of what was about to happen. There was a repetition about the protagonist becoming afraid of him, especially if he was alone (3-4). I paid close attention to his quiet moments and what was happening because I thought this is where things would go very wrong for the character. There is a point on page eight where the woman wonders "if she should be afraid." Fear is an exciting topic for me because it is something very raw, irrational and can be linked to as many things as you can imagine. When I see this thread of fear spinning in the story my expectation is that the fear will reach a breaking point where it must be faced and peeled apart to its rawest form. The truth comes from unwrapping the fear and that's exciting to see unfold from the readers perspective. I felt like we never fully understand the fear in this story.
In total, the impression that I got from this story is that it was half finished. I felt like we only touched the surface and with a little more time we could reach understanding. I must admit though, the more I read the less I think understanding or answers must come from endings. It is still most satisfying having a vine wisping into the future so that the reader (me) can have something to carry me beyond what is written into what has or could become of the characters.
BLACK
Black was refreshing. I found the plot to be interesting and a little hard to follow. I thought that Morris was a bit weird. He seemed too fond of Suzy. I definitely got a weird vibe from his character. The way the story is written leaves too many bread crumbs to believe that Morris desired Suzy in a different way than a parent would. The sentence "Morris is forty-three and Suzy is five." It sounds like when you speak about an age difference in a romantic relationship. The next sentence is "There are complications." I think that age was the complication. The next paragraph talks about Moriss liking little girls in dresses. The language makes me question his motivation for taking Suzy on. When Suzy calls him the man she lives with, I am not surprised. Her movement toward darkness and isolation later in life reveals a deep sense of emotional disturbance. It is never clearly stated in the story. Perhaps her mental degeneration near the end is purely genetic but I just don't get a good vibe from that Morris character.
I did enjoy the short paragraphs. They act like a series of photographs of people I do not really know with writing on the back that is left open to interpretation.
SHARKS
I found this story to be dreadfully boring. The beginning was alright. I was intrigued by the fear of the sharks. I did not have a problem adjusting to the way the dialogue was written. I imagined the story like a play where there is little light except for the spot on the two ladies with telephones. As a reader I like to dissect what I am reading and this story did not seem to have the depth that I enjoy picking apart. I felt the conversation repeated to the point that I wanted to hang up the phone.
I got the sense the fear was greater than that of just sharks. It was a highly developed phobia and I did wonder where it began. Fear of Sharks is pretty standard and understandable. Fear of sharks that have been genetically altered and experimented on is highly irrational and I wondered how this fear made that leap in her mind. I assumed that the one lady did not want to leave her home that she may be agoraphobic but did not want to admit it. There was a lot of potential to explore the world of irrational fear but I felt the author did not take this far enough. Usually a fear that well developed does not stand alone and will be surely twinned with another fear or at the very least anxiety or low self-esteem. I read through to the very end with the hope that maybe, even the last sentence would deliver the real umph that I was waiting for. It did not.
The Princess and the Plumber
I love the title. It is clever and without reading the story I have such big hopes for it. I thought to myself, finally a story that I can really get into. There were parts that I truly enjoyed. There were sentences and paragraphs that I thought were really clever and had such great potential. I did feel like the author was a bit careless when it came to the reader. Fairytales are sentimental and I felt betrayed by the lack of follow through on the fairytale end of the story.
The little girl in the nightmare, I thought that she may be a part of his nightmare and she was letting him know that what was happening was not real. That she was his cue to stop pursuing the princess and he would wake up from the nightmare thus freeing her from the nightmare as well. I did not like the frog. I expected him to help the plumber to achieve his pursuit somehow.
"The whole world was covered in white. " The ending was horribly dissatisfying to me. I expected more. The title was so clever. My expectations were that the story would be equally as clever. I do not even know what the ending means except that nothing exists anymore. Perhaps the entire story was a dream and the person woke up.
