Chopsticks

When I heard about the unique format of Chopsticks by Jessica Anthony and Rodrigo Corral from Franki's post over at a Year of Reading, I could not resist. I am always attracted to exploring new ways of telling stories. When the book arrived last night I was surprised by the size. I was expecting a regular chapter book sized text; however, it was more the size of a professional educator book. I would have known if I would have looked at the dimensions on Amazon (9.4 x 8 x .09), but I rarely pay attention to that. Surprise aside, I was thrilled because I quickly realized that it was much more appropriate for this story than the size I was imagining would have been.

The novel is told through photographs, news articles, art, ephemera, chats, and more. The start of the book reminded me of the feeling of picking up The Invention of Hugo Cabret, which was another book that I was drawn to precisely for its unique way of telling the story through pictures and words.

I started to orient myself to the story, and based on the back cover, knowing that at the end I would wonder, "what is real, what is imagined, and what has been madness all along..." I was not sure which aspects to focus on, knowing that Franki had mentioned in her post that she would have to go back and look closely again. For example, one page contained a couple of pages of writing from Sylvia Plath's The Bell Jar with writing all over it. I was not sure if it was really necessary to read the pages, or if the focus was more on a connection to the mood or if it was about the writing on the page.

I can see how I will need to go back and re-read now that I figured out some of the twists toward the end that change everything. There will definitely be so much that I will discover with a re-read. I didn't even capture certain aspects such as chapter markers consistently the first time through. I noticed the first one with chapter three, which was obvious, but then I could not find the first couple of chapters. Later I found chapter 7, which prompted me to go back and find the others. I found most but then could not wait to see what else was going to happen, so I decided that hold off on that search.

One aspect that I will need to do upon re-read is go to the You Tube sites listed in the book. I know that is part of the story and will add another layer of understanding. When I closed the book I had mixed feelings - one of great appreciation and awe at the format and frustration - wondering if I will ever truly figure it out, wanting to be able to discuss it with others. However, I reminded myself that it was part of the fun - the joy of knowing there will be more to discover on future readings. I will be looking for others who want to read and discuss the book though!

This book is also available as an App, something that I think would be interesting to see as well. As I understand it, it has everything the paper novel has with some added in multi-media experiences. Oh, the possibilities with creativity!