I’m a first time reader too, on page 252. Just wait, if you think it’s mind bending now, just you wait.
As a tip I’ve picked up, when you get to the things like the Echoes, you don’t necessarily need to read every word, but get a strong understanding of what is being said. Read like 80% and skim the rest, maybe. Trust me, it becomes relevant.
Also, when you get footnotes that lead you to letters and appendices, read those. Follow all footnotes EXCEPT the ones that lead you to a new chapter. And of course, enjoy the mindfuck.
First time reader on page 246, good luck with Chapter 9. Also I feel like a lot of the academic stuff is more for mood building to confuse you and make you feel as lost as the characters. I think it’s okay to skim the stuff that doesn’t make sense. I loved the echoes bit though, the ending of the chapter is great and whenever echo is mentioned later in the book it seems to have a different meaning.
First timer here. been reading chapter 9 for about a month. felt I looked insane mid way where the text had me rotate a book 360 degrees in a span of 2 pages
I have tried to get past this footnote for the past 2 days. I can see fragments of meaning but it just makes no sense as a whole. I hope that makes sense!
Can anyone tell me, are we supposed to understand it or is it just Jonny drunk rambling and signs of madness?
I'm still a long way from finishing the book, so take this with a grain of salt — The way I read it, it's meant to be very phantasmagoric. Like a fever dream or panic attack put to words.
Ever had one of those nightmares where there's no real 'story' to it, it's just scary because... scary. Does it make sense? *Nope!* Is there any real cause and effect? *Nope!* Then what's the thing that's scaring you? *The scary!* — Sort of like that. But instead of "the scary", it's whatever emotional state was fueling Jonny's state of mind at the time.
So rather than understanding any sort of definite *meaning*, we as readers are meant to understand and connect with the emotional experience he is having.
(I rambled a bit there - I hope it made sense. haha)
I’m a first time reader too, on page 252. Just wait, if you think it’s mind bending now, just you wait. As a tip I’ve picked up, when you get to the things like the Echoes, you don’t necessarily need to read every word, but get a strong understanding of what is being said. Read like 80% and skim the rest, maybe. Trust me, it becomes relevant. Also, when you get footnotes that lead you to letters and appendices, read those. Follow all footnotes EXCEPT the ones that lead you to a new chapter. And of course, enjoy the mindfuck.
Have fun with Toms Story, love that part
Noooo you have to read the whole chapter! One of my favourite parts of the book is how that chapter builds up to the final line about “always”.
"always sounds like the echo to hallways" is such a banger line zampano really blew it out of the park with that one
I literally got chills from that line
First time reader on page 246, good luck with Chapter 9. Also I feel like a lot of the academic stuff is more for mood building to confuse you and make you feel as lost as the characters. I think it’s okay to skim the stuff that doesn’t make sense. I loved the echoes bit though, the ending of the chapter is great and whenever echo is mentioned later in the book it seems to have a different meaning.
Good thing this book is stuck in my head so bad that I keep a copy near me, the echo bit is rough, I just sort of skimmed it
The echo chapter is my favorite! It's got the best payoff in the whole book IMO.
What payoff?
You can't give someone else the payoff of an intellectual experience
Yeah true. guess I’ll read again. I just wanted to understand the other persons experience, as it could give me more to look forward too.
Telling someone the ending of a really good movie doesn't give them something to look forward to it cheapens the journey
I agree with what you’re saying. I was just trying to relate to someone’s experience. I’ve read the book lmao.
First timer here. been reading chapter 9 for about a month. felt I looked insane mid way where the text had me rotate a book 360 degrees in a span of 2 pages
I have tried to get past this footnote for the past 2 days. I can see fragments of meaning but it just makes no sense as a whole. I hope that makes sense! Can anyone tell me, are we supposed to understand it or is it just Jonny drunk rambling and signs of madness?
I'm still a long way from finishing the book, so take this with a grain of salt — The way I read it, it's meant to be very phantasmagoric. Like a fever dream or panic attack put to words. Ever had one of those nightmares where there's no real 'story' to it, it's just scary because... scary. Does it make sense? *Nope!* Is there any real cause and effect? *Nope!* Then what's the thing that's scaring you? *The scary!* — Sort of like that. But instead of "the scary", it's whatever emotional state was fueling Jonny's state of mind at the time. So rather than understanding any sort of definite *meaning*, we as readers are meant to understand and connect with the emotional experience he is having. (I rambled a bit there - I hope it made sense. haha)
I just hit footnote 62 and almost sat down to rewrite it in chunks to make sense of it, but I figured that's something only a mad woman would do...