Reed's writing style compared with Jes Grew
I didn't particularly enjoy the writing style of Mumbo Jumbo, but I can certainly appreciate Reed's intentional stylistic choices throughout the book. As we mentioned many times in class, his choices (while hard to decpiher) were certainly intentional to some degree. Putting two chapters numbered 52, not using quotation marks for dialogue, making chapters arbitrary(?) lengths, and placing the first chapter before the publishing pages are all examples of writing choices we wouldn't expect in a traditional novel.
As we worked through the book, we also talked about why Jes Grew is such an effective "plague". In my opinion, Jes Grew's key quality is its unpredictability. Like Papa LaBas said in his speech, you never know where and how Jes Grew will spring up again.
I see a lot of similarities between Reed's depiction of Jes Grew and his writing style. The unpredictability and strangness is what makes it stick in people's minds (or bodies in the case of Jes Grew) and spread. The very first thing we talked about in our original discussion of Mumbo Jumbo was Reed's strange writing style, and I'm assuming the book received a similar reception when it was first published. Certainly, his choices would have created a stir and, consequently, more people would have read the book and discussed it. The same goes from Jes Grew. Its notarity makes it effective and makes it spread quicker. Without people talking about it and giving it attention, Jes Grew would quickly die out for good.
When I think about Reed's writing style as a comparison with Jes Grew, his choices become a lot more understandable to me. He picked intentional techniques to break the traditional mold of a novel in such a way that, at first, they seem completely random. Although some of his quirks made Mumbo Jumbo a lot less enjoyable to read at times, after finishing the book, I can reflect on his intentions and see the subtle genius behind his strange choices.
Or maybe he really did lose count of his chapters...
I never thought to draw a connection between Jes Grew and Reed's unpredictable writing style. I don't think this book is going to slip from my memory either, as it was such a shock from any other novel I've read. This weird styling can also be seen in different genres such as film, (as I think we briefly discussed in class) where the credits came after the movie instead of before, or the film would open with some quick action and later transition to the title card. In general I think we can take away that something unorthodox or new captures attention, whether it may be good or bad, and brings light to the subject, spreading it further beyond it's original audience.
ReplyDeleteThat's what I was thinking as I read, as well - just as Jes Grew attracted attention because it was completely out of the norm, Reed may have been trying to attract the same amount of attention with his boundary-pushing book. It almost feels cheap to try to get attention through (debatably) somewhat meaningless stylistic choices (especially the placement and numbering of the chapters), but then again if it's a good representation of the spread of new ideas, whether good or bad, it is not a bad metaphor.
DeleteIt definitely seems that Reed is trying to go for the shock factor with this book. However, I don't think his stylistic choices has as much symbolic weight as he wanted them to. I think his images stuck out and added to the story, but his textual choices seemed like they were just a grab to make the book more quirky and groundbreaking. I don't know how much it added to the plot.
ReplyDeletePerhaps that choice is in itself postmodernist. I remember in class when we talked about how Atonists attempted to subvert Jes Grew by putting typos in their fake publications, someone said how maybe the inclusion of two chapter 52s could have been an "Atonist interference" upon the work of Reed himself. Who are we to say it wasn't? That sort of artistic playfulness screams postmodernism to me, and I completely agree it's part of the piece's genius.
ReplyDeleteGreat post! I agree that his writing style is quite confusing. I still don't really think there's much of an underlying meaning to the oddities in the novel other than to be unique and grab attention.
ReplyDeleteThis is a really interesting idea. Maybe Reed is being kind of egotistical here and trying to say that he is the new coming of Jes Grew, but who knows. He's not entirely wrong though, as his writing style is very unorthodox and light hearted. Great post!
ReplyDeleteI really like this interpretation! We talked a lot in class about how the vitality of Jes Grew hinges on it being reactionary (for example, jazz fades away when it becomes codified and absorbed into institutions of "high art" because it loses its revolutionary, rebellious nature). I think you could say the same thing about Reed's writing style—it's specifically crafted as a challenge to the conventions of normal fiction, and so a big part of its impact is to draw your attention to the way it breaks the rules.
ReplyDeleteBoth Jes Grew and Reed's writing style do seem to be unique, but they're two different parts of the book, so I'd never made the connection before. Although I agree, it was difficult to read at times, the book will certainly stick in my head for not only having two chapter 52s, but also how unique the idea of an anti-plague was.
ReplyDeleteHi Lara! I thought your most was unique, as I haven't heard this comparison between the unpredictability of the plot of the novel to the unpredictability of Jes Grew. We spent a lot of time in class talking about the meaning of Ragtime and its relationship to the writing style of the novel, but I don't recall such discussion about Mumbo Jumbo. I agree that the "success" of both come from its sheer strangeness and unpredictability. Reed's novel was such a hit because it broke traditional conventions to create... something. Jes Grew was effective because it sprang up out of nowhere and spread to a large number of people via word of mouth. Wonderful job!
ReplyDeleteI never consciously made this connection, but the style of the book really does fit Jes Grew and the whole topic of Mumbo Jumbo. It has a sort of instinctive feel - whatever random picture his mind wanders to gets included in the book. Regardless of if we understand the references he uses, he includes them in the book. If you think about it, I imagine most other books we know would be painful to read in this style (more draining than Mumbo Jumbo already was, anyways).
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