#because we know she's going to have a creative epiphany so dragging out the metaphors only hurts things

[fictionadventurer]

Maybe I need to write Cardinal's Map so there's a contemporary book about the power of literature and reaching for a world beyond the mundane that isn't wall-to-wall inspirational platitudes with vague worldbuilding about the battle between the forces of good vs. evil.

[thetypedwriter]

Imaginary Friend Book Review

Imaginary Friend by Stephen Chbosky Book Review 

This is undoubtedly the weirdest book I have ever read. 

You might be thinking… but, thetypedwriter you read fanfiction! This can’t be the weirdest thing you’ve ever read! Things like ABO universes exist!

You would think that, wouldn’t you?

But no. 

I shall endeavor to give you a spoiler free synopsis of the book first followed by my thoughts and criticism, but note that this is an endeavor for a reason. I have now explained this novel in depth to two different people, and both times I have found myself completely and irrevocably stuck on how to even begin, let alone end. 

With that forewarning, here we go. 

The novel surrounds a single mother and her young son moving to a small Pennsylvania town in order to escape the tragedies of their past that include the passing of her husband and her current abusive boyfriend. 

However, while things in their new home start out well-they find solutions to unemployment, poverty, the son’s dyslexia, etc, things start to go awry when Christopher, the son, is lured into the Mission Street Woods at the edge of town by a voice only he seems to be able to hear. 

As Christopher continues to listen to the voice in the form of a cloud, or a plastic bag, or even inside of his mind, he starts recruiting his friends to build a treehouse in the woods that will transport him to a different time and place. The voice, lovingly called the Nice Man, instructs him to finish the tree house by Christmas Day. 

Or else everyone will die. 

As Christopher struggles with newfound powers and responsibilities, coping with two different worlds, his mother struggles with her son’s sanity, the town struggles with anger, blame, and temptation, and what follows is the chaotic descent of a small town into the throes of good versus evil, love and loss, and most importantly, trying to differentiate what is real versus what is imaginary. 

In the simplest terms possible (a facetious statement if there ever was one), I thought this was going to be a thriller mystery book about a single mother and her young seven-year-old son Christopher leaving their home and her abhorrent abusive boyfriend in order to start a new life with hope and potential. 

And it….is? 

But it doesn’t stop there. Chbosky crams so many genres, themes, motifs, and messages into this book that when you think about it, it’s unsurprising that it’s over 700 pages long with the tiniest, most miniscule font I have ever had to squint at. 

However, make no mistakes like I did, this book is horror. 

Yup. You read that right folks, horror. 

To preface, and I might have mentioned this in another post for another book at some point, but I vehemently dislike horror of any kind. This extends to books, movies, shows, etc. 

I understand that horror is a great joy and pleasure for a vast amount of people and that it contains its own literary merit, tropes, and rules, and I can appreciate that for what it is from afar, but I personally take very little enjoyment from consuming anything horror related (I apologize to all the Stephen King fans out there in the world). 

I did not fully realize the extent to which this book was a true horror. 

This is entirely my own fault. I was very much blinded by the rosy colored glasses from college when I first read The Perks of Being a Wallflower, Chbosky’s first and only other novel. 

Perks is wonderful. It is a tragic, yet fundamentally hopeful and loving bildungsroman that shows the beauty and the pain of growing up and accepting yourself. The movie with Emma Watson is what dreams are made of. 

I committed author fraud when I picked up Imaginary Friend based on the pure speculation that I would most likely like it since he had written Perks, a book I adored as both a reader and a teacher. 

I’ve warned readers against this in the past, but it seems like I should have taken my own advice: just because an author has written one good book or one book you like, does not automatically mean you will like their second book, or any of their other books for that matter. 

This cannot possibly ring more true for Stephen Chbosky, as not only are his two books completely different in narrative and structure, but also vastly different in genre and purpose. 

I should have stuck with my gut and realized that I probably wouldn’t like this book based off the synopsis, the genre, and yes, even the cover (it looks scary to me, okay?), but I said noooooo, it’s Chbosky, you have to read it!

And this is where we ended up. 

First of all, I didn’t hate the book. 

I can recognize that it is extremely well written, well crafted, and well developed. I can enjoy a slew of characters, and oh boy are there a multitude to pick from, and I can give credit where credit is due. 

Chbosky is a talented writer. There is no doubt in my mind about this. The way he crafts words, the way he plays with texture and space, and with fonts and sizes, is nothing less of sheer brilliance. 

He undoubtedly is also masterful at motifs, foreshadowing, and symbolism. Notably, there were so many recurring objects, colors, metaphors, and so on that were sprinkled out so consecutively and intentionally throughout the novel-some I didn’t even pick up until the end-that I was left reeling from how immensely talented and brilliant he is. 

Things like his use of baby teeth, blue moon, and fogs/clouds/mist struck me in particular. I know this seems like gibberish, but Chbosky truly came across as understanding what he wanted to portray and how he wanted to deliver it. 

However, the biggest compliment I can give to Chbosky is the sheer magnitude of his imagination and creativity. This book almost overwhelmed me through the use of ideas and concepts I had never really thought of before. 

Alternate dimensions? Check. 

Supernatural powers? Check. 

Incredible use of diction and figurative language? Check and check. 

Chbosky had so many wild and tantalizing beautiful turns of phrases, expressions, and descriptions that it left me with the same sort of gasping epiphany that Maggie Steifvater’s writing always leaves me with, the feelings that writing can be so utterly beautiful and compelling, that it can be all-consuming as well as never ending with its potential to stun, to create, and to warp to unique needs and purposes. 

It definitely was a reading experience quite like any other I’ve had. 

Be that because of the horror genre or because of Chbosky’s odd, yet addicting writing style and this has definitely become a book that left me more than a bit dumbfounded. Although I’ve sung its praises and admitted to my own faults at this point, this book isn’t without flaws. 

To me the horror genre itself is just not my cup of tea like I’ve stated. Strike number one. 

Second, the book was...abysmally long. Atrociously long. As I’ve also said before, I do not mind large books. In fact, big books when you’re reading something you love is a true blessing. Finding that fanfiction at 3am that hooks you immediately and you look up to see its 300k? Amazing. 

Starting a new book series that you fall in love with body and soul and realize you have several installments left in the series to gorge and devour? Ecstasy. 

Sloughing through a single book that starts to drag on and on repetitiously for what seems like forever? Borderline hell. 

This book could have been 300 pages shorter and still contained everything Chbosky wanted to accomplish. It could have had the same brilliant writing, messages, and motifs, but without all of the never-ending back and forth between worlds and battles that just kept popping up time and time again. The abominable length considering its content is strike two. 

Last, the ending was a bit of a cluster. At this point in the novel, so much is going on, you are being exposed to so many pov’s that it’s almost stress-inducing, and events taking place are cataclysmic and 10/10 on drama. Chbosky bit off more than he could chew here. 

The book choked itself at the end, which, after reading for 700 pages is not the feeling you want to have. The ending left me befuddled, disappointed, and also bereft of a conclusive end and explanation for the shitstorm that had just rained down. It was not the ending I wanted, could understand, or could even really grasp. Strike three. 

This book has a plethora of merits followed by three enormous criticisms. If you like horror, then you’ve already crossed hurdle number one. If you can accept it’s repellant length (let alone have days upon days of free time to actually ingest said behemoth) then that’s hurdle number two. 

Hurdle three is up to you. Perhaps you would like the ending where as I found it lacking in structure, content, and answers. I like my endings tied up with neat little bows. I don’t like to be left thinking...hmmmm what does this mean? 

If I am going to read your massive book, I deserve an ending that satisfies the journey. Authors telling readers that it’s up for interpretation makes me want to strangle something. It comes across as enormously pretentious to me and oftentimes lazy. 

In the case of Chbosky, I think he had given himself so many loose threads that the neat little bow I desired was next to impossible. 

So he didn’t even try. 

Score: 6/10

Recommendation: If you love The Shining, are lacking bouts of creativity and imagination, have lots of free time during Quarantine, and don’t mind having an Inception-esque ending where you might not get all the answers you want, while being tasked with concocting it for yourself, Imaginary Friend might be your new best friend. 

Bonus: Here’s a pic of my kitty photo bombing this book shoot. Hope she brightens your day!

[bodizwonder]

ADHD could possibly be the key to the success of overachievers

ADHD is usually spoke about as one thing to take care of, however it may have sudden advantages. Photo: SIphotography

“Gary you’ll notice I use lots of analogies. I see images, so it’s how I describe. My conversation hasn’t been linear, have you noticed that?”

Jeremiah Hartman has consideration deficit hyperactivity dysfunction (ADHD) – however he dislikes the 2 d’s in that acronym: “They’re so sharp and negative.”

Like many with ADHD, Hartman sees the world with broad, stressed eyes – unconstrained by social etiquette. He interrupts me frequently however it’s extra intuitive than impolite; he is so engrossed, he precisely guesses the top of my questions earlier than I’ve requested 3 phrases of them.

Jeremiah Hartman has harnessed his ADHD right into a inventive software that has helped him succeed  Photo: Supplied

Transfer these traits to the office, and you’ll see the potential for battle or misunderstanding. But there’s not often requested query: might ADHD be chargeable for the success of undiagnosed high-achievers?

Language revealing creativity

Speaking to Hartman, 35, is a meandering tsunami of rapid-paced allure, eloquence and enthusiasm: the usage of my title to personalise our chat; his self-awareness; the care taken to make sure he is not complicated or shedding me. It’s probably the most partaking dialog I’ve had all week.

And probably the most vibrant: the analogies, as he warned, come thick and quick: like a ball held below water; (how he felt pre-diagnosis, which occurred at 27); a colourblind individual working in a paint store (how jobs not often fitted his particular skillset); like watching The Sixth Sense for the 2nd time (how analysis made him view his story and character ‘flaws’ in utterly completely different gentle); a drag automobile constructed solely to go quick and straight (how he feels in his job as an expert MC now).

The optimistic nickname

His unique similes and metaphors reveal an missed facet of ADHD: its optimistic points – with creativity being prime. Hartman’s imaginative diction has coined the optimistic nickname “ADDers,” which escapes these dreadful double d’s: It’s a pun, encouraging give attention to what individuals with ADD/ADHD add and contribute, reasonably than lamenting the drawbacks.

In earlier roles, Hartman was all the time the “colourblind painter.” Now he can use the “quick wit, high energy and enthusiasm” which made him unsuitable for sedentary workplace work, to be an MC who gees up audiences and smashes charity public sale fundraising targets.

Turning that frown the wrong way up

It generally is a change of mindset for a lot of ADDers: “At school, they may’ve been labeled lazy goofballs.” He – and plenty of different ADDers he is met via the help group he runs – show the alternative: “We bring flair and energy to any task. ADDers are morale boosters – we keep things interesting because of the unconventional way we work.”

“Eight hours is just a warm up”

Mark Brandtman, 60, was recognized with ADHD aged 40. It got here in spite of everything 3 of his kids had been recognized: “The pediatrician described my son and I thought, how do you know me so well?” A Deputy School Principal on the time, Brandman found a guide titled ‘You imply I am not lazy, loopy or silly?’ It was an epiphany: “That title nailed it. It was both comforting and confronting. I finally had an explanation.”

Brandtman speaks on the identical speedy tempo as Hartman: “Things like not picking up on social cues were explained. In the workplace, we might annoy colleagues but can’t put our finger on why. Colleagues often think it’s deliberate.”

The work ethic of an ADDer, although, may be formidable: “For 17 years I worked 8am – 7pm, six days a week – in the military and then as a teacher. Eight hours a day is just a warmup for those with ADHD, when they’re using their energy to do what they’re passionate about.”

Fidget spinners had been hailed as a therapy for these with ADHD, however there isn’t any scientific proof it has any advantages. Photo: Brook Mitchell

The scale

At the final census, 6.8 per cent of Australians had been recognized with ADHD.

In a current BBC Horizon episode, ADHD and Me, impressionist Rory Bremner was recognized on air. He believes the random associations it throws up feed his comedy. Similarly, TV’s most inventive chef, Heston Blumenthal not too long ago advised Executive Style how ADHD helps his imaginative juices movement.

A pure benefit

Scientists imagine ADHD helped society by offering risk-takers who determine risks and map out boundaries. Mark Brandtman is eager on this level: “In nature, we were the hunters. We respond quickest in an emergency.” This applies to the office: “We gravitate to creative jobs – marketing, advertising, start-ups – they’re interesting, quick, high-pressured. We thrive there; less so in administrative roles or retirement!”

Heston Blumenthal has brazenly said his ADHD has been a supply of creativity in his profession. Photo: Hal Shinnie

Hartman provides: “ADDers are overrepresented as entrepreneurs – we’re adventurous mavericks, we take risks. We don’t have the mindset that says ‘hang on let’s think ahead.'”

Kerry Cooney lectures at Charles Darwin University and is the founding father of Every Day with ADHD. She says: “When not destroyed by schooling, individuals with ADHD have a huge capacity for success. If they have coping mechanisms and have chosen their career wisely, they’re the cleverest minds around. Inventors, entrepreneurs, scientists – major problem solvers. They see the world from a different perspective.”

Have you, or does somebody you recognize, endure from ADHD? Share your experiences within the feedback part beneath.

If this text has raised points you would like to debate, name the ADDults with ADHD helpline on 02 9889 5977

Source: fitnesscaster.com Source: Bodiz Wonder