Second week: Appeals Factor

I read through the material for the Appeals Factor assignment, and I applied the factors to three books that I read recently. As I worked my way through the assignment, I noticed that more than one appeal factor applied to all of my selected books. The three books are The Girl on the Train by Paula Hawkins, Changing Tides by Michael Thomas Ford, and Mind of Winter by Laura Kasischke.

The Girl on the Train is both a psychological thriller and a character study. The plot revolves around a young woman who, on her daily commuter train ride, suspects a crime involving the people she sees from her seat. Her psychological state complicate her endeavors as she discovers truths about the crime and about herself.

Pacing: The novel is easy to read...it's a page turner. The revelations in the plot are plotted well enough apart, and keep the reading pace brisk.

Characterization: The main character is alcoholic, and whose emotional life is in turmoil. The effects of the alcohol cause her to make bad decisions. These decisions are exasperating both for the other characters and the reader, yet she is treated sympathetically by the author, which, in turn, makes the reader to feel sympathy for her.

Tone: The tone is dark and suspenseful. The main character, because of her drinking problems, suffers from blackouts, and as she slowly discovers what occurred during the blackouts, the seemingly inevitable downbeat ending makes for an intense reading experience.

Story line: The book falls under the dark psychological thriller category, with undertones of mystery.

Genre group: The Girl on the Train would engage the Emotion group because the book's focus is on the main character's thoughts and feelings.

Changing Tides by Michael Thomas Ford is a coming-out story with an unconventional main character in that he is older, has a daughter, and is introverted and awkward in his social interactions. The subplots include the investigation of the provenance of a unpublished manuscript purportedly written by John Steinbeck, and the process and sensation of scuba diving is vividly described.

Story line: A developing romance, and the tensions between a father and his estranged teenage daughter make up the bulk of the plot. The scuba diving portions were well researched, and written graphically enough to give the reader a feeling of what an actual dive would feel like in the real world. Three characters are followed in their separate story lines until they merge towards the conclusion of the book.

Pacing: The reading pace of the book is swift, but the plot develops slowly. The romance doesn't emerge until the second half of the book .

Characterization: The three characters' viewpoints alternate throughout the book so that the reader is exposed to each character's motivations and emotions in conjunction with the other characters are thinking and feeling. The character arc of the three come together at the end of the book as each of their revelations about self cause psychological growth.

Setting: The novel takes place in Monterey, CA. Cannery Row, the Monterey Bay Aquarium, and the Monterey Bay itself are the three major settings, and play major roles within the plot In particular, present-day Cannery Row and the Cannery Row of the past figure prominently in the book. In addition, many of the scenes take place underwater, and these scenes describing the flora and fauna of the sea floor come alive.

Story line: Book is plot driven. There are many references to John Steinbeck's life and his work, and Steinbeck, Steinbeck's work, both real and fictional, provide the motivation for one of the character's story arc.

Genre group: This would appeal to the Emotion group. The book delves heavily into the characters' thought and emotions, their reactions to past events in their lives, and their growing self-awareness and their adaptions to their changing inner and outer lives.

Mind of Winter by Laura Kasischke

A lapsed writer, waiting for her husband and relatives on Christmas Day, interacts with her adopted daughter. The interactions become sinister as the daughter's behavior and the mother's actions become increasingly bizarre.

Pacing: Slow but deliberate. 

Characterization: This novel is told in the first person by the mother, whose thoughts and reactions to her daughter's behavior become suspicious and paranoid.

Setting: The story takes place in a suburban house on Christmas Day with frequent flashbacks that take place in Russia. 

Story line: The story line is spare. Character is the most important element in the novel, but the mystery provides psychological dread and interest.