Give a Hoot, Read a Book!
At its heart, this is a book that is a celebration of books. The book itself is actually narrating the story of its protagonist, Benny, and his mother. So it is entirely appropriate that multiple metaphors about books abound in this highly metaphorical novel with perhaps this example being the most memorable:
“Every person is trapped in their own particular bubble of delusion, and it’s every person’s task in life to break free. Books can help.”
The Voices
The book has a voice in the narrative and this is significant, too, because voices of inanimate objects play a central role in the narrative. As a result, voices are also given metaphorical life throughout the text. Sometimes in a very quick and precise manner, but on occasion, such as this example, in a much more complex portrait:
“Sometimes the voices are attractive and pleasant, like that rubber duck my mom found in the dumpster. I don’t mean the horrible squeaking sound it makes when you squeeze it, but the other voices inside that are more like the duck’s memories of oceans and tides and swells and shorelines, and something dreamy, too, softer and dim, like somebody wonderful had once touched it with her finger.”
Benny
Benny is obviously not your average, everyday boy. Compounded by the fact that he is a little different to begin with and on top of that has begun hearing inanimate objects talk, his father has recently died. So, Benny is not your typical kid, but he does represent a more typical brand of literary character: the outsider.
“Benny was always a small boy and slow to develop, as though his cells were reluctant to multiply and take up space in the world.”
The Life of the Artist
The Book tells part of the story, remember. And the story the Book is telling belongs to Benny, mostly. And one of the gimmicks of this narrative strategy is that the Book’s narration often directly addresses Benny, even to the point of giving advice:
“The dark side has its allures, Benny, but most people don’t want to go there. They prefer to stay safely on the bright side instead. But artists and writers and musicians like your dad are helpless to resist the dark side’s pull.”
The Aleph
The Aleph is a girl, but not just any girl. After all, she calls herself the Aleph. It takes a certain kind of narrative or at the very least a certain kind of character within a narrative to introduce complex metaphorical imagery into conversation. And Aleph is that kind of character in that kind of narrative: stacks.
“If you picture the Library as a manifestation of the time-space continuum, it’s like I’m casting these ephemeral threads across time and space for other people to pick up and follow. Like you did…it’s like I’m a nomad, and I’m making bread crumb trails through the labyrinth of the Library’s collection, tracing the forking paths of my journey.”
