Reply to comment

One thing that struck me about the first chapter of the Book of Salt was the incorporation of the title. When Binh receives the letter from his brother, he said that he could smell the salt, but if he had not been watched, he would have tasted the paper to see what kind of salt: kitchen, sweat, tears, or the sea. This was interesting, because salt is one of those flavors that is so widely used and craved, and can be found in so many different circumstances. The descriptions are almost refreshing, because the sense of taste is very undervalued in a lot of writing. This story seems a lot richer with the use of it.

Another thing I liked about the letter scene was when Binh made the "mistake" in punctuation when he's talking about being alone and afraid. "Walking away alone, I am afraid." becomes "Walking away alone. I am afraid." Finally the sentiment is expressed in a type of poetry at the end of the chapter: "I do not want to start all over again./ Scanning the help-wanteds./ Knocking on doors./ Walking away alone./ And, yes, I am afraid." This has something to do with our discussion on "Lifting Belly". The arrangement of words, sentence structure, and punctuation change according to the emotion behind what the writer is trying to say. It is easy to feel the drastic changes, even though the words are the same. That's why Gertrude Stein's stream of consciousness style with the lack of punctuation, fluctuating pronouns and arrangment works for "Lifting Belly". Regardless of what the words mean, the reader can feel what she was trying to say.