If it weren't for the book club and wanting to particpate I would have stopped reading around the second chapter.

Ditto. But I'm kind of glad that I forced myself through, because I kind of liked the ending, and I feel so (stupidly) proud of myself when I finish a slow read.

We need Kristin with her book club discussion suggestions. Or some questions to get things started. How about: Did anyone see that Intuitionism started as a joke, and what did you think about it?

I didn't see it coming, but it made the whole book more meaningful for me.

I'm about two-thirds of the way through, and I've started enjoying the book a lot more. I nearly put it down after the first third, though. I keep wanting to find some sort of allegory in the whole elevator motif, but I'm not sure that's the best way to read the book.

Admittedly, I have a way to go, but I'm almost starting to read the Intuitionist vs. Empiricist debate as the kind of spirit of the law vs. letter of the law debate you might see in theological circles.

I wonder how many others felt bogged down in the beginning, and why they felt that way. For me, it's because the author's voice took a lot of getting used to. Also, there were points where I felt he was trying just a little too hard with certain similes or turns of phrase. There were times (e.g., when describing Lila Mae's hair or the guild's sedans) where I noticed the language more than the image, if that makes any sense.

I'll pop back in here once I've finished. With any luck, that should be some time tomorrow.

I didn't see it coming. I was waiting for some kind of big "elevators are people, too" moment, which we didn't really get.

It's odd. In the first part of the book (until they got into the theory of it), Intuitionist practice sounded a lot like looking at the big picture or how all the pieces work together, rather than the individual pieces, and listening, rather than looking. So, the Impiricist reaction to it sounded something like gunpowder=magic, or Adrian Monk, Benton Frasier, Sherlock Holmes, etc. I'd have liked more on it earlier, as I think it would have helped inform my reading of Lila Mae, particularly, and pretty much everyone.

And, for the record, I always take the escalator.

Wah. Haven't finished yet due to other things that needed doing. I'll be back...

I am about half way through the book right now. I've had a really hard time getting through it which is unusual for me. I'm actually sort of hoping I might read some thought here that might convince me to finish the book.

My one observation so far: His writing style reminds me a lot of Ayn Rand's style in Atlas Shrugged. I guess both books are about a 50s-60s era world that focuses on industrialiam and is slightly different from our own. But beyond the comparison of the style, both books seem to me to be about some sort of search for meaning using the metaphor of industry. In The Intuitionist , I'm still not sure what the search is for. I guess maybe I could answer this question if I'd finish the book. I'd be curious if anyone else noticed a similarity.

Hopefully, I get a bunch further tonight.

I didn't really enjoy it at all until the last fifty pages or so when I sort of began to get into it (slightly). I'm not sure I got it either. I skimmed a lot of parts, especially all that crap that happened to the reporter. A lot of the events and dialog seemed to be imitations of what the writer thought would sound cool. I'm phrasing this wrong, but there was something about his style--it just felt lacking in passion or something.

Nonian, yes. I had the Atlas Shrugged thought, too, although more in term of the main character and plot than the writing, but I was noticing other things about the writing. The ending was also rather reminiscent of it, once you have the comparison in mind.

I couldn't get past the first seventy pages without the impulse to skim, so I'm going to bow out of the discussion. I'm disappointed because I'd heard wonderful things about the book (and I was one of the people who seconded the suggestion), and while the writing was interesting (kind of dreamy and lyric), I couldn't wrap my head around the world he presented. I've been busy, though, with writing deadlines and the kids, and my only time to read is right before bed, so that's probably part of it. I'll probably lurk and see what everyone else has to say, though, and I'm looking forward to Asher Lev.

Well, the book sucked me into its strange world pretty easily. I loved the humor of a world in which elevators and elevator inspectors are considered to be far more important than in our world. Like Lila Mae going to the most prestigious elevator college in the world (implying there are many others) and the political influence weilded by Lift magazine.

I think the author's creation of a world different from our own worked beyond the humor. The world was familiar, yet not. This allowed the author to focus on issues in a more abstract way. I mean, if the book had been a completely realistic portrayal of the experiences of the first black female firefighter in New York in 1963 (or whatever), the historical specifics of that time and place and the specifics of a particular engine company of a particular fire department would constantly be on the reader's mind. And I'm assuming the author didn't want the historical specifics to distract from the story, the message of the book.

btw, I suck at literary criticism. And I'm bemoaning my failure to use the word "historicity."

I'm another one who had a hard time getting through the book, but I did like the ending.

I'm wondering -- how did people feel about Lila Mae? I certainly admired her, but she holds the world at such a distance that she's a tough point-of-view character. It was almost too hard to get to know her. (I'm not saying all main characters need to be warm and fuzzy, but using someone so remote, and with such high barriers, is a difficult choice.)

here were times (e.g., when describing Lila Mae's hair or the guild's sedans) where I noticed the language more than the image

I definitely felt the same. like the choice of narrator, the language helped keep me at a distance from the story; I was left thinking, "what beautiful writing" more than having any emotional reaction.