[books] Quality Literature vs Conversation

[bridgetester]

With One Word, Children’s Book Sets Off Uproar
Julie Bosmanhttp://www.nytimes.com/2007/02/18/books/18newb.htmlRead more... )

Comments

Re: Squicky!

[bridgetester]

I don't know all that much about the book myself, but here's the relevant quote from her eavesdropping on a 12-step group (probably AA). The Amazon reviews are about her trying to figure out adults and get control over her own life. So, in short, you're reading too much into it...

"Sammy told of the day when he had drunk half a gallon of rum listening to Johnny Cash all morning in his parked '62 Cadillac, then fallen out of the car when he saw a rattlesnake on the passenger seat biting his dog, Roy, on the scrotum."

"The question of Short Sammy's dog's scrotum settled into one certain brain crevice as she picked her way among the weedy bushes of the dry wash. Even though Lucky could ask Short Sammy almost anything and he wouldn't mind, she could never ask about the story of Roy, since she had overheard it. If she asked about Roy, then he would know that she'd been eavesdropping at the anonymous twelve-step meetings.

Scrotum sounded to Lucky like something green that comes up when you have the flu and cough too much. It sounded medical and secret, but also important, and Lucky was glad she was a girl and would never have such an aspect as a scrotum to her own body. Deep inside she thought she would be interested in seeing an actual scrotum. But at the same time -- and this is where Lucky's brain was very complicated -- she definitely did not want to see one."