Post a written response (about 250 words) to the blog on your initial reactions to Vaclav & Lena. Topics could include but are not limited to the influence of the reader's culture on his/her reading of the text, remarkable elements of writing style, or the role of language diversity in the text.
My initial reaction to Vaclav & Lena was that it did a good job of infusing the Russian language into the book. This writing style is similar to books I have read before (ie. The Book Thief) so it was not a new reading experience for me. Actually, since Russian is similar to Polish, I enjoyed trying to figure out what a word or phrase meant before reading on to find out. The use of Russian and Russian speakers added a sense of mystery to the book as well. It did this by showing things through a character’s perspective, but most of the time they were oblivious or lost in what was going on because of language barriers, leaving the reader to figure out what is actually meant. However, I did not like the dialects spoken in broken English. I found those annoying to read after a while. I also thought writing in broken English took a toll on the author because I would continue to see improper grammar in the narration after a dialogue between characters. I also thought the author did a good job with the chronology of the book. She split the book up nicely into different parts, and I felt that she did a good job of placing flashbacks in places where they would not confuse the reader of what was going on prior to the flashback. I often find this to be an issue in some books, where the author jumps around so much on a timeline that I lose track of what’s going on. Overall, I thought it was well written besides the flaws I mentioned above.
ReplyDeleteI agree with Patrick on how the book brought together the Russian language and the English learned by the characters. While at some points I had to reread a portion to understand what they were saying, I thought it was an interesting style of writing, since I'd never read a book with that style before. I found it to be sort of similar to Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close, only because Oskar, the main character in EL/IC is autistic and often uses his own type of made-up language. I don't think the book would have had the same affect that it did had it not used the broken English. I think the author's decision brought a sense of authenticity to the novel. The writer made sure that the language was a large part of character development as well, with Lena speaking the most 'broken' English and Vaclav helping her learn. I really enjoyed that the author explained why Lena's English waas so bad, even though she had been in the country for so long. Her situation, and the way it would be so different was she able to speak better English, is remarkable. She's really able to convey things with her language, and often even without saying anything, as she is noted for doing. I think I like the style of writing so much because it's unique. Novels are often so polished, and even though the style was meant to be this way, it was rough around the edges, making it seem more real and relatable.
ReplyDeleteMy initial reaction to Vaclav and Lena kept me wanting to read on. I was very curious and intrigued to see what would happen to Vaclav and Lena with their magic show. As the storylined continued, I maintained to kept my curiousity.I think the author did a good job on making the story interesting and new. Having some phrases in Russian had a certain mystery to the the story and the background of the Russian cultural, because this was new to me and unknown. Relating to the book was hard for me, because I had never had to move to another country where I had to learn the language to survive. Today in spanish class I had no idea what was happening, because he was speaking so fast and I wasnt able to understand the conversion. In fear I hid back in the conversion, because I didnt understand what was going on. This reminded me of ho lena had a hard time learning the english langauge and struggling with it. Overall, i thought that the story was very interesing and a fairly easy enjoyable read. The author set up the storyline well so the reader wouldnt get lost with the storyline an kept the reader on their toes wondering wht will happen next or what did happen in the character's lives.
ReplyDeleteReading the first few pages of Vaclav＆Lena, I found many basic grammatical errors. For example, after “everyone,” a singular subject, author did not add “s” after the verb instead author kept using original form of the verb. Ironic part was that these errors were rarely found in the conversations between Vaclav and Lena while I found most of the grammatical errors in the narration parts. Although Vaclav and Lena made few mistakes in their conversations, putting errors in the narrations gave me indirect references of how clumsy were they at speaking English; however after Vaclav and Lena grew up, there were fewer grammatical errors than when they were young. The author not only used grammatical errors, but also constantly used combination of English and Russian. This method well described a person’s intrinsic use of his or her first language even though he or she was grown up in a foreign territory. The author wrote lots of details about characters’ mind. When Lena’s grandmother, “babushka,” died, few men came to clean up the cadaver. One of the men showed extra concerns for Lena. While Lena could not even have a short conversation with him, her good feeling toward the man was specifically described through the narration. The author chose to use these expressions maybe because characters in the novel (with different cultures) were not experts at revealing their emotions. Genre of the novel confused me a lot. By looking at the cover of the novel, it was obvious to me that it was a love story. However as I read through the novel, the genre was more like mystery to me.
ReplyDeleteI really enjoyed reading Vaclav and Lena. One of the things that, for me, made the story so interesting was the way the book was separated. In the beginning, it focused on Vaclav but was about their lives together. Then, the book split and showed how each of their lives were going separately. Finally, they were brought together near the end. This weaving of the story added an extra depth to it. The story really focused on both of the main characters. You did not just see the perspective of Vaclav. It was nice to see inside the head of Lena. As stated above me, I really liked the mix of the Russian and English language in the book. Normally, this is not something that I like in books. For me, if too much of a different language is mixed in, it makes comprehension harder and the reading becomes frustrating. For example, I can remember reading a book in middle school that had many Spanish phrases included. I do not remember the name, but I can still remember how much I hated having to look up all these phrases. In Vaclav and Lena, the phrases in Russian do not completely impact the story. You can get through reading and understand what is happening in the story without having to stop and look up each Russian part. This addition of another depth to the story. Overall, I feel the author did a very good job weaving many different parts together to make a very good story. I really enjoyed reading Vaclav and Lena.
ReplyDeleteI immediately noticed how there were multiple characters with what we may define as “broken English”. Most of the characters are Russian and that is their native and dominant tongue. The English spoken by characters differs throughout the book however. Lena is a worst English speaker than Vaclav though neither is proficient in the language. Vaclav’s mother and father both speak broken sentences, ideas or thoughts. Towards the end of the book, Vaclav is even correcting his mother’s English such as when Rasia says “So why did you lie about this from me” (257). He tells her that is should be “to” me instead of “from” me. Vaclav and Lena both radically improve their English throughout the book. Vaclav’s mother tries to act like an American mom for her American son, showing how he has acclimated himself successfully into the American culture. Lena goes from being the girl who takes ESL and is made fun of for how poorly she speaks to president of student council and a hot commodity in her own right at her school.
ReplyDeleteI believe I had an extremely interesting vantage point from which to read the book. Being an American with English as my dominant language, I did not know, comprehend or understand properly what it feels and looks like from someone who is not fluent in the language. I was able to accompany all of the characters in the book as they went through daily struggles and routines without fluency in English and it was very eye opening. I now have a new found respect and understanding for those struggling with a second language and those individuals living in America while not being able to speak English to the level of a native who was born here and spoke English their entire life.
Overall, I found the variation in language and levels of language proficiency to contribute to the book in a unique way. There were times I had to reread sections to grasp who was speaking and even what was being said due to the language being used. However, I thought the inclusion of this language variation was successful because it gave characters unique qualities. Lena always had a tendency to revert to the Russian “da” for yes because for a large portion of the book she is not a great English speaker. Rasia and other characters sometime substituted words in -- such as from instead of to as shown above – but I was almost always able to understand what was being said or asked regardless.
The use of Russian and "broken" English in Vaclav and Lena made the book more realistic and authentic. Russian was used in a way that still allowed the reader to understand the text. Lena naturally spoke Russian when talked to because it was the most comfortable for her. The author sometimes left out articles like "the" and "a" when Vaclav, Lena, and Vaclav's parents were speaking. It was interesting to see their English progress as the children grew older. Although Vaclav had always been better at English than Lena, after Lena left to live with Em, her English was practically perfect.
ReplyDeleteWhen I'm speaking English, I don't have to worry about whether or not I'm using the right words and grammar. Reading the book showed me what it's like to not be able to understand the people around you. When Lena started hanging out with the "cool girls" in the ESL class, she would just sit and nod because they spoke too quickly. Even when Lena moved away and was in high school, she tried her best to not make mistakes when speaking. She spent hours and hours doing homework, "writing and rewriting, checking and rechecking" (Tanner, 210). Em said Lena mastered English "through sheer force of will" (Tanner, 210). The book taught me how difficult it is to live in an environment where your native language is not spoken.
The author's use of flashbacks made the story more of a mystery. There was a long flashback when Lena's side of the story began, which depicted her arrival to America and the various guardians she had. However, not everything was revealed at once, which made me want to keep reading to find out why Rasia called the police that night. The use of flashbacks also made sense because Lena tried to erase parts of her memory after starting her new life with Em, but certain things came back to her without her control.
Vaclav & Lena is an enthralling love story, but somewhat too beautiful to be real for me. The illustration of two teenagers who seem destined for each other at the age of 9 is more of a fantasy in fairytale than a down-to-earth romance expected in life. Despite I confess once in a while in my life I can't help dreaming of a person who is always waiting for me somewhere without my knowledge, reality has despoiled my whim of casting such an ingenue. Haven't touching any novels about teenage romance for years, as most of the love stories are predictable and thus losing its excitement of reading, I felt extremely bored reading Vaclav & Lena. Although I like the delicate language of Haley that how she portrays the thoughts of children is awesome and touching, the plot doesn't intrigue me as much. It's not until reaching the climax, almost to the very end, when Vaclav has a conversation with Trina in her dark, dirty and messy house, revealing truth about Lena, my excitement is aroused. I like the ending a lot, in spite of the simplicity of language and structure. The while lie weaved by Vaclav inspires a tender and warm feeling.
ReplyDeleteThe highlight of the novel must be the metaphor of magician, which I think Haley does a wonderful job on it. While the language about magics is a little bit tedious at the beginning and perhaps it's just because I have no interest in it, I realize the smart devise of the author that magician is a foreshadow throughout the pages, illuminating a beautiful and unwavering heart of a little boy, who made this love-miracle come true. Even though Vaclav didn't perform his intended magic in front of everyone on that Sunday in New York, he has turned out to be a great magician due to the magic of love he conjured out of him that is able to convince everyone. He is such a charming and intelligent teenager with a beautiful heart.
Besides, there are many indications to foretell the story throughout the content in the novel. For example, the spot Lena was fascinated with when she was in the bathroom. It suggest a certain characteristic of Lena and maybe a reflection of herself.
However there are several questions remained which I didn't figure out:
Does Lena really know the truth about her parents?
Why the Aunt easily told the true story to Vaclav?
Why does Rasia somewhat show her reluctance towards having Lena be with Vaclav since she loves them both?
What is the implication of the fairytale about the princess and the peasant in the novel?
At first the language used in Vaclav and Lena was hard to grasp. I agree with some of my classmates that it got annoying at times and I had to reread a passage to fully understand it. Usually I prefer to read books where I can fully understand the language used. This was only a burden when first starting the book. I then realized that the type of broken english the characters used helped to develop the characters more. It also made me think that if it is challenging for me to read, imagine how challenging it would be for the characters to communicate with the people around them. Although the author was using broken english, the book still seemed to flow very well which was a pleasant surprise. Some of the flashbacks were confusing, but overall the storyline did not take too much concentration to follow.
ReplyDeleteThis book also helped me to realize more about the Russian culture that I had not known before. The way the author mixed in russian phrases really made me see a different side to the characters that you would not normally see in a book. Also the way the author developed the book really gave you insight into both the main characters.
Because this book had a Russian aspect to it, I was more interested in the author to see if she had any link to Russia in her family. I did not find anything and most of what I read about Haley Tanner was very vague. Overall this was a well written book, and mostly interesting to read.
My very first reaction was how descriptive and strange the author is. She really provides enough description to bring you into the world she created. The author’s process of describing situations was also rather unique. Because she writes from an omniscient perspective the descriptions are as much of exactly what’s happening as they are the characters specific train of through. And its this train of through style I found really unique. The author really created minds and trains of thought that you can feel almost a part of. A lot of times when you’re reading a book things about the characters are left up to the reader to piece together based on how they act and what they do. Because the book is as nearly about what happens to Vaclav and Lena as how they are feeling and what they are thinking there is no question as to what their motivations are. I actually found I almost never had questions because the author would just fill in the blank because the whole book is almost nearly trains of thought pieced together. I really enjoyed being able to get the full picture of the main characters. Not just them, but also the characters around them, when appropriate. I also found surprising how easily relatable this book was. Even though there are many moments in this story that are far from relatable the feelings the story relays are the relatable moments. I haven’t read a book in a long time that featured many things that were close to “modern culture,” so when i read the book i didn’t struggle to find things to relate to. I think a lot of the book has almost very simple things to relate to. A lot of the start of the book was about moments of being a little kid and for some reason those all seem basic and relatable. I really enjoyed reading this book.
ReplyDeleteIf broken language was used in the story that we’ve learned last year (I can’t remember the name of it) to convey author’s topic, broken language in Vaclav & Lena is used to describe its character more detail and realistic. The point of using broken language is that giving reader directly how Vaclav and Lena thought. Therefore, since Vaclav and Lena were young, there were grammatical errors when author shows their emotions or thoughts. However, the errors are getting disappear while Vaclav and Lena are grown. The use of grammatical errors and broken language (combination of English and Russian) made me feel like God who knows everything about Vaclav and Lena. Sometimes the errors that Vaclav and Lena made were familiar to me because I made those errors numerous times. For examples, use everyone and put verb without “s” and article problems. However, I couldn’t enjoy the book because Russian was so unfamiliar that confuse me while I am reading. It is good for author to use Russian or Polish to make story more realistic but, like me who doesn’t know Russian or Polish, took more time to read through.
ReplyDeleteThe reason that I liked to read Vaclav & Lena not only that I could understand their language problem but also that I feel like being God. Whether the author put them together or not, I could see each other’s thoughts and behavior. I feel like watching movie because of vivid descriptioin.
Is the story you're thinking of from last year Amy Tan's "Mother Tongue?" Can you explain further the idea that the grammatical errors are connected to God knowing everything about the characters?
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