Friday 23 December 2011

On The Road: Part One, Chapter Three - who is this guy?

Apologies for the delay in Chapter Three this week, KLiters (*snort* just realized how wrong that sounds - new name suggestions in the comments please) holidays 'n' all!


LettieLou and I have been reading away as usual, as well as updating the On The Road playlist and baking NYC Cream Cakes - I'm beyond proud they actually look and tasted (note, past tense) really pretty yummy :)


So, let's jump right back on in, shall we?  Our boy, Sal's really starting to make some progress at this point - let's join him in the passenger seat with the window wound down and the warm breeze blowing in our hair - rolling along, on the road...


Read along with us HERE


Chapter summary:


After his earlier set-backs, Sal finally makes it to Chicago, which to him is the first of many obstacles on his route to San Fransico; he blows through almost as soon as he's arrived.  
Meeting up with Eddie, we find ourselves with them amongst the ten-gallon hat wearers, apple-pie eaters and everyday hard workers of America's heart lands.
Sal either sleeps through or watches it all speed by from the window of a vehicle, letting one opportunity for experience pass him by after another.
Hopefully he'll open his eyes to the dream he's living soon...




Breaking it down - an excerpt:


LettieLou: I love this chapter because he FINALLY starts to meet some characters

Lorabell: nod

LettieLou: who, besides the land, are the stars of this book

Lorabell: i love the guys with the big 10 gallon cowboy hats

LettieLou: LOL! me too!

Lorabell: oooooooh, love that - the land is SO a character

LettieLou: thanks. :)

Lorabell: but even though it is vast in geography and diversity, there is a uniting thread that runs throughout
like the Missisippi...

LettieLou: YES
he even says that...
when he describes the people
he talks about how these men could be from any town
anywhere

Lorabell: YES

LettieLou: (page 13 for those reading along)
"I walked, after a few cold beers, to the edge of town, and it was a long walk. All the men were driving home from work, wearing railroad hats, baseball has, all kinds of hats, just like after work in any town anywhere"

Lorabell: mhmm
he wants it all "now"
dude, look around

LettieLou: like he doesn't want to be left out





Chatting it up - the complete breakdown:

LettieLou AND SO...
Chapter 3
:)

Lorabell: Chapter 3 :)

LettieLou: I have to start w/ my favorite thing about the chapter
which is a bit weird
but I love how he describes the smells of places

Lorabell: i don't think that's weird
smell is a very powerful sense

LettieLou: the Mississippi river... the sawdust...
so visceral

Lorabell: it makes it more real
which is no bad thing

LettieLou: he does it so well

Lorabell: rather than "a story" is feels more autobiographical

LettieLou: For example (and for those reading along)

Lorabell: :)

LettieLou: Page 12
"I saw my beloved Mississippi River, dry in the summer haze, low water, with its big rank smell that smells like the raw body of America"

Lorabell: i love his language

LettieLou: me too!
And I know the smell he's talking about…
the "river" smell

Lorabell: but it really takes you there...
like, if you ever visited those places...
you'd be transported into his minds’ eye, regardless of the time or who you are
smell is so powerful

LettieLou: absolutely...
smell and sound

Lorabell: and it can change the scene from raw and heat to soft and breeze

LettieLou: exactly!

Lorabell: he's constantly describing sounds too - i love that
again it adds to the "realness"
you're sitting alongside him in the truck he just hitched a ride in
bumping along in the night air with the dust flying and engine roaring

LettieLou: his ability of description is what made me fall in love w/ him. For example, the description of the hotel room, I love
page 15

Lorabell: quote away, m'lady...

LettieLou: LOL!
i love what you said back there about “bumping along with him” by the way!
i think that's what he intended
he wants the reader along w/ him

Lorabell: it totally happens
usually with books and stories...
you're reading along but it's like you're hovering over or part of the furniture
with this, you're on the journey

LettieLou: yes... we're with him
"... spent a long day sleeping on a big clean hard white bed with dirty remarks carved in the wall beside my pillow"
he doesn't use flowery or uppity language
just raw descriptive powers

Lorabell: nod he doesn't sugar coat it
but you can almost feel the rough cotton sheets beneath you

LettieLou: i feel like there's not a high thread count here... LOL! he did say it was clean
LOL!

Lorabell: lol, yup
seen a few too many washes
but in terms of content of the chapter
it's nice he's getting some distance behind him

LettieLou: YES!
i feel some satisfaction

Lorabell: although i'm sad he whizzes through Chicago so quickly

LettieLou: he's soooooo ready to get to denver
where everyone is
up until he starts hitching, he misses being ON THE ROAD
he's just ON A BUS
LOL!

Lorabell: but it's like he doesn't appreciate some big opportunities
LOL

LettieLou: bingo

Lorabell: for all his dreams of big adventure, he's sure skimming a lot of it

LettieLou: he does at first...

Lorabell: but i feel when he starts actually hitching, it dawns on him more

LettieLou: I love this chapter because he FINALLY starts to meet some characters

Lorabell: nod

LettieLou: who, besides the land, are the stars of this book

Lorabell: i love the guys with the big 10 gallon cowboy hats

LettieLou: LOL! me too!

Lorabell: oooooooh, love that - the land is SO a character

LettieLou: thanks. :)

Lorabell: especially because, being British, it's such a novelty for me too
and he's only from the east coast


Lorabell: but even though it is vast in geography and diversity, there is a uniting thread that runs throughout
like the Missisippi...

LettieLou: YES
he even says that...
when he describes the people
he talks about how these men could be from any town
anywhere

Lorabell: mhmm

LettieLou: (page 13 for those reading along)

Lorabell: in that sense, do we think he's dismissive of them at all? Like, he's not appreciating the experience as he's living it as much as he could because he thinks these characters are a dime a dozen... unlike Dean :p

LettieLou: That is a great point...

Lorabell: (sorry to interrupt you)

LettieLou: I think he's in such a hurry to not miss something you know
you didn't
:)

Lorabell: YES
he wants it all "now"
dude, look around

LettieLou: like he doesn't want to be left out

Lorabell: sorry, what were you going to say before?

LettieLou: oh nothing... i was just referencing the page i was looking at

Lorabell: quote away :)

LettieLou: "I walked, after a few cold beers, to the edge of town, and it was a long walk. All the men were driving home from work, wearing railroad hats, baseball has, all kinds of hats, just like after work in any town anywhere"
:)
page 13

Lorabell: P.s. I'm also loving the beginnings of his apple-pie in-take here... just saying ;)

LettieLou: I KNOW!

Lorabell: did the "American as apple pie" thing come from this book?

LettieLou: I’m not sure where that phrase comes from but I do love how he says it just gets better

Lorabell: because it works perfectly
me too

Lorabell: where's the quote...

LettieLou: on it

Lorabell: race ya

LettieLou: page 19!

Lorabell: damn you

LettieLou: nevermind...

Lorabell: no?

LettieLou: that's the cherry pie!
crap!

Lorabell: GOT IT
YES!

LettieLou: where is it? LOL!

Lorabell: "I ate apple pie and ice cream - it was getting better as I got deeper into Iowa, the pie bigger, the ice cream richer"

LettieLou: YES!
i love that line

Lorabell: you can almost hear it being scooped out of the dish with thick vanilla melting on top

LettieLou: It's funny because it seems that everything is better in Iowa. He talks about how pretty the girls are, too.

Lorabell: noted

LettieLou: "The prettiest girls in the world live in Des Moines"

Lorabell: maybe everything seems so wonderful now just because he's realizing he's living it

LettieLou: B
I
N
G
O

Lorabell: lol

LettieLou: he's FINALLY experiencing it!

Lorabell: everything always seems incredible when you wake up to living your dream
however short/long
he's taking in all the sights and smells he's been longing for

LettieLou: even experiencing it... he still just wants to get to Denver and San Fran to be w/ Dean and Carlo

Lorabell: ugh, those guys

LettieLou: I'm like "dude, they're not that great"
Eddie is way more interesting!

Lorabell: i'm kinda annoyed he's rushing through all of this to get to them
they're so full of it
agreed

LettieLou: (for now...) NO SPOILERS

Lorabell: silly boy

LettieLou: heehee

Lorabell: ha

LettieLou: just
you'
'wait

Lorabell: eeek

LettieLou: i'm picturing Garrett in some of the scenes to come...
good
lord

Lorabell: nom
gah, don't even
that boy fans self

LettieLou: i know....
i would totally ship that if stew dumped roberto... (dear readers, don’t hate me for saying that! LOL!)
LOL!

Lorabell: HA
HAHAHAHA
is he with anyone?

LettieLou: not that i know of… I’ll give him my number…

Lorabell: anyhoo

LettieLou: LOL!
sidebar

Lorabell: but, recapping - where do we end up in this chapter?

LettieLou: Gothenburg

Lorabell: post Shelton?
i can't even thing what state it's in

LettieLou: Nebraska
yep

Lorabell: brain freeze
i'm wondering if Shelton's meant to represent anything...

LettieLou: i mapped out the entire trip once... i need to look for it again.

Lorabell: a "dead end" side of the heart lands
ooooh, get on that (mapping it out)

LettieLou: i know... i did it in my stoner college days
theres no telling

Lorabell: ha
cough because that was so long ago cough

LettieLou: yeah yeah
looks around
me?

Lorabell: lol
nooooo
ps i was thinking about including a recipe for hash brownies
lol
at some point :)

LettieLou: i'm sure i can find that somewhere...
cough

Lorabell: oh i have one
i may have to down the dosage so our readers don't lose 12 hours like i did
but that was BC weed

Lorabell: so, Eddie :)

LettieLou: yes...
say we close it up w/ discussing Eddie
he's so awesome

Lorabell: also SUCKS they didn't do the carnival thing because he didn't want to miss out on what Dean and Carl were up to
Water for Elephants much
he's a shirt thief!
haha, kidding

LettieLou: I KNOW! but such a great character!

Lorabell: and i kinda love how he just fucks off
like "laters!"
and gets in the car
/truck?

LettieLou: and love that sal just rolls w/ the punches
but he liked Eddie

Lorabell: ah, trailer!

LettieLou: he was good for him at the time

Lorabell: he does in an easy going way...
but is also too focused on getting to San Fran at the same time
missing out on the Carnival, for example

LettieLou: but it's funny to me that at first sal was concerned that he couldn't be picked up because Eddie looks so shotty

Lorabell: shotty?

LettieLou: dirty...
not put together

Lorabell: ah

LettieLou: sorry... i make up words sometimes
heehee

Lorabell: lol, i wouldn't have known
i thought it was a legits word from your neck of the woods

LettieLou: feel free to integrate it into ur brit vocab

Lorabell: ooooh
i'll try and make it happen, UK side
#Fetch

LettieLou: Gretchen!

Lorabell: YOU CAN'T SIT WITH US

LettieLou: Have you ever heard of the term "personal hell"?

Lorabell: sure

LettieLou: He says on page 21...

Lorabell: ...are you quoting or asking?
lol

LettieLou: "I waited in our personal godawful Shelton"
I think that's what he's trying to say... that it' his personal hell.
LOL!

Lorabell: but why?
it's another town he's experiencing along the road
i don't get what's so bad about it

LettieLou: right but it was just another obstacle for him...

Lorabell: true

LettieLou: at least i think that's how he saw it

Lorabell: a dead end on that part of his trip

LettieLou: yeppo
eddie sure deuced out of Shelton quickly...

Lorabell: having to restart down another road
maybe because there are those places that are just too far from everywhere
disconnected

LettieLou: and Dean, Carlo, and Marylou aren't there...

Lorabell: rather than a stop on a road

LettieLou: he only wants to be where they are

Lorabell: yup, i think he feels the furthest from his destination since he began there
it's so different from where they're at

LettieLou: but you can bet that if they were in Shelton and he were in Denver...
guess where he would want to be

Lorabell: mhmm

LettieLou: SHELTON

Lorabell: LOL
suddenly it's the life of the party
all ironically hipster cool

LettieLou: snaps fingers

Lorabell: lol

LettieLou: yeah man

Lorabell: gah, this is making me long for summer
and i'm SUCH an autumn/winter/Holidays gal
but I wanna be in a car, with the windows down at night, warm breeze blowing my hair
heading somewhere that serves crawfish ;)

LettieLou: I can only ever think of stew when i hear about crawfish
her story was hilarity

Lorabell: HAHAHAH
and that gif
which i KNEW would happen
snort
i tried them for the first time when I was in NO this past spring
we dont' have them here
fiddly fuckers

LettieLou: they are deelish

Lorabell: indeedy they are

LettieLou: Well, great third effort!

Lorabell: agreed :)
***

See you next time?

Save some room for Kristen's "Mean Apple Pie" up next ;)

- Lorabell

2 comments:

  1. Solid breakdown girls! :)

    Just a few thoughts...

    Thankfully our dear Sal is finally starting to make progress! This chapter is where the road really starts to come to life. It's not just asphalt under truck tires, but this palpable thing, living and breathing.

    I love the way you referred to the "bumping along." That's the perfect term for it. Don't you totes feel like you're in some big rig hauling ass down the freeway yelling over the clamoring motor?!?

    He is finally moving not just literally but figuratively. One of my favorite passages in the chapter is when he acknowledges "the dividing line" in his life. The New York boy is becoming the West bound man. Kinda gives me a chill when he describes those few seconds where he doesn't even recognize himself.

    Everything holds more appeal for him the farther West he roams. The pie gets better, the girls get prettier. Yet it almost seems he holds back, won't let himself really indulge until he reaches his destination and is with his boys. (Silly Sal, the journey is the fun part...live it up my man!) Then he knows...it's gonna be ON! ;)

    Ah and who can forget the "rawhide oldtimer" on pg. 18-19. Can't you just envision this guy?!? I love Sal's endearing regard for this man who sort of personifies the West he is looking for.

    Final thought...how cute is it that he sends his aunt a post card?!? Awww!

    Until Chapter 4...xx

    ReplyDelete
  2. @TwiNurse02 Completely forgot about how he forgets himself when he first wakes up - I was so wrapped up in the description of the room and feeling like I was seeing what he was seeing - but love that too. He's so far away from home and outside of his normal life that he doesn't recognize who he is, but also makes me think that "who he is" is changing on his journey :) it's kind of the point in taking the trip I guess - to find who he is. Although, I recently came upon the idea that such things aren't about "finding" but "making" who you are :)
    P.s. F-LOVING that you're reading along SO hard xxx

    ReplyDelete