"Portal" by J. Robert Lennon, read by Robert Sean Leonard/"A Curtain of Green" by Eudora Welty, read by Frances Sternhagen
Things to Comment on:
Does the story/selection appeal to you? Why or why not?
What does the reader to do bring the story to life, create a vivid voice? How would you rate the telling of the story? What in particular did you like or dislike?
From Phoebe:
ReplyDeleteDoes the story/selection appeal to you? Why or why not?
What does the reader to do bring the story to life, create a vivid voice? How would you rate the telling of the story? What in particular did you like or dislike?
These stories definitely appeal to me, particularly the first one, “Portal”. I enjoy fictional stories, and the somewhat whimsical, yet dark fantasy stories are often favorites of mine. The plotline is clearly fictional–portals to alternate, twisted dimensions don’t actually exist–but the story of family bonds fraying with time is one that is not fictional in the slightest. The interweaving of that lighthearted childishness of exploration with the tragic reality of a family falling apart was expert in this story.
I especially enjoyed the story because of the storyteller, Robert Sean Leonard. He spoke as if he actually was the main character, seeming to get lost himself in the realizations of where it all went wrong, and it sounded as if he was truly close to tears as he remembered the last time his daughter reached for his hand. His pause was loaded, followed by a heavy, “no, I’m not going to go there.” I would rate the telling of the story as a 9/10, easily. He didn’t rush through the story, as many people do when they story-tell, and he paused only when it would add to the story, when the silence was pregnant. I very much enjoyed this story, and I highly recommend it to anyone who enjoys fantasy, suspense, or commentary on how fragile family bonds can become.
The second story in this selection was interesting, but did not appeal to me like the first one did. It was slower, and there was not as much focus on the dynamic relationships. However, it was an interesting narrative about how age and loneliness can cause someone to withdraw into themself. I also thought the reader in this story was a good one, pausing frequently yet appropriately to inject meaning and to tell the story as a partially senile old woman would think; slowly.
That said, the narrator did not use much variation in her voice; most of it was at the same volume and speed. Even when the main character is debating bringing the gardening hoe down on the boy’s head, the narrator spoke in an almost detached voice, which perhaps was the point. The woman had been alone in her garden so long, nothing but rain could remove her from her own solitude. I would rate the story a 7/10. The narration was effective, though a bit boring at times. The story was one of age and the dangers of loneliness, and I think that it portrayed that reality very well.
"Portal" by J. Robert Lennon, read by Robert Sean Leonard
ReplyDeleteI certainly enjoyed this story, especially the shifting emotions and themes the story covers as they discover grand worlds ranging from similar to vastly different. The humor and wonder the story opens with rapidly changes into a cause of discomfort, catalyzed by the family’s aging, and changing views and personalities. Most interesting was the sense of longing that breaks their family apart: the portal took away their desire for adventure, leaving the family empty.
The story lends itself to being heard and told more so than being read: the story’s narrator (not Robert Sean Leonard) speaks conversationally in first person of his own past experiences, like a traditional story or tale. Robert Sean Leonard gave depth to the story, adding humor, sorrow, and worry with his tone and pitch. The greatest talent Robert Sean Leonard has is to pause, making it seem as though he is the narrator, contemplating his next words, or to add suspense; without a doubt, the most powerful aspect was not the story, but its telling. As a whole, I enjoyed it and consider it highly.
“A Curtain of Green” by Eudora Welty, read by Frances Sternhagen
A very different story than “Portal,” “A Curtain of Green” focuses on pain and a loss of hope, which a widow buries through labor in her garden. The garden acts as its own world, isolating and sheltering both the widow and also her pain. As the widow “discovers” her memories and remembers her husband, suspense is created making the story as interesting and exciting as an adventure novel. While not the typical genre I would associate myself with, this story appealed to me using vivid scenery, metaphors (e.g. a falling tree), and well-crafted emotion.
Frances Sternhagan does an excellent job telling the story; the story is rich with emotion- longing, sadness, desperation, and loneliness- that combines very well with Frances Sternhagen’s reading style, where she focuses especially on the widow’s grief. The wavering in her voice amplifies during memories of the widow’s husband, but solidifies during descriptions of the garden, likening to the widow’s emotional state that is wavering between acceptance and agony. Her tone is slightly detached, in tune with the detached nature of memories, but also with the widow detaching herself from her pain through labor. To conclude, a very well written story, to which Frances Sternhagen amplifies the emotion and embodies the widow exceptionally well.
Does the story/selection appeal to you? Why or why not?
ReplyDeleteWhat does the reader to do bring the story to life, create a vivid voice? How would you rate the telling of the story? What in particular did you like or dislike?
"Portal" by J. Robert Lennon, read by Robert Sean Leonard
This story appeals to me in many ways from the beginning of the story to the end. I like the starting of the story where Lennon wrote the introduction, with intent on making it relatable. Like right off the bat the main character can be easily be related with by the audience as a typical father in this day and age. As the story progressed I felt very hooked into the story as a whole. Similar to what Harry said, I enjoyed how the main character would talk to the audience like he is telling a story for fun. Like a casual conversation. This gave way to a lot of the comical discussions that occurred throughout. Also, like the earlier comments, I really appreciate the flow of the story in which the story teller told the story. There were pauses in all the right places which grasped the attention of his audience. Side note, I thought the narrator had a slight Holden Caufield way of talking. Similar to Holden, the main character explains many things but tends to go on tangents during each main event of the story. That was the only thing I slightly disliked, however, I thought that the tangents provided a lot more realism to the story and made the character seem even more relatable. Overall, I thought that "Portal" was a really nice story to listen to.I would give the story a solid 9.2/10. It was my more favorite of the two stories.
“A Curtain of Green” by Eudora Welty, read by Frances Sternhagen
As the other commenters have said, this story is very different from "Portal". If I had to summarize this story in a few words, I would say that the story portrays, "A silver lining in a place of dark clouds". Welty tried to basically potray that there is always something that gives you hope after something terrible. The main character had the garden as her sanctuary to cope up with the loss of her husband, and used the loss as a chip on her shoulder to better herself by making the garden beautiful. In my opinion, this story is one that was better to read on a piece of paper or a book, than it is to listen to the story from a story teller. The thing that stood out to me from this story was the vivid description of scenes and the many metaphors like the falling tree, the rain, or the use of the hoe that were placed in this story to make the story sound all the more eloquent. The speaker didn't rush the story, in fact she tried to slow the story down as much as possible because the slow pace of the story provides more emotional hit to the audience. I think the speaker's voice was very dynamic throughout the story as well. The only thing I disliked from this overall story was that at times, this story sounded like a litany. It lacked some sort of charisma, and the story didn't really hook me in. This could be because of the fact that I listened to "Portal" right before this, that I expected this story to draw me in a lot more. However, as Harry and Phoebe mentioned, the emotion in which the story teller portrayed amplified the significance of many parts of the story. Overall, I would rate this story an 8/10 and I thought that this story was well-written and told beautifully.