A Story a Day Keeps the Doctor Away...Storytelling and Humanity

Jonathan Gottschall sets out to show how humans are tied to stories and fiction in his nonfiction work “The Storytelling Animal: How stories make us human”. They are essential to everyday life, play, and mental attitude. You may be thinking, well that’s just silly! I don’t tell stories and I don’t hear storytellers, or even read all that often. Well, Gottschall will tell you you’re not looking at a wide enough angle.

Storytelling is everywhere. Through the thousands of years human beings have been on this earth, we have made stories essential. If, as some claim, fiction and stories are wasteful and unnecessary, then why did they not evolve out? No we might not all sit around listening to our parents recite Sleeping Beauty for the hundredth time, but we function on a daily basis in the realm of the story. 

As Gottschall explains, the mind is a storyteller. We dream nightly, even if we don’t remember, creating events in our head. Dreams help us work out life situations and see the endings to different scenarios. One argument that Gottschall presents for why we dream is because we need to practice. Dreaming gives us the chance to see the endings to different scenarios, feel what it’s like to punch that person you hate without the ramifications of so doing. Then there are daydreams. Living in our heads and telling ourselves fictions about what we want and how we get it. 

When we are unable to explain our world, we fabricate stories. We find explanations because the human mind does not respond well to having no answer. Our minds are created to lie, to fib, to tell stories. In split brain patients, when the left (reasoning, speech center) side of the brain saw an image, then picked the object that was associated with said image and explained why they picked that object. However, when the right (creative) brain saw an image and picked the object associated with the scene, the left side of the brain could not explain why that object was chosen because the brain was not connected to the other side, and the left (communication) side was unable to comprehend what the right side saw. Instead of saying ‘I don’t know’ the patient’s brain made up an explanation. 

Humans are supposed to tell stories about themselves. We need to alter our memories to be more favorable to ourselves, make us be the protagonist of our own story. Gottschall says, “A healthy mind tells itself flattering lies. And if it does not lie to itself, it is not healthy…positive illusions keep us from yielding to despair.”

In the end, Gottschall talks about the future of fiction and how many say it is dying. Quite the opposite is happening in his opinion. People crave story more than ever. Movies, TV show, videogames, even books. He cautions the reader that the problem in the future isn’t losing our stories and wandering away from fiction, it’s getting lost in it and forgetting to live in reality. Virtual realities, MMORPGs, LARP are already popular, but think about when we get better technology, when we can nearly live inside of these worlds with our senses intact there. As Gottschall says, when you’re playing God, why would you ever want to stop?

Jonathan Gottschall gives a fascinating, well researched, convincing look into how storytelling is not dead, and is essential to humans. This was an easy book to consume and a very interesting subject, at least to me. His writing style flows from paragraph to paragraph and he links his ideas throughout the book. In the end, his conclusions draw the book together and give a description of where we are heading. I recommend this book for writers, storytellers, readers, psychologists, and homo sapiens.

Crazy Lady or Unjustly Accused?

So I must admit, I've never read Margaret Atwood before. Well there are a lot of other books out there and I'm a busy girl! I finally got around to it and read Alias Grace. A friend told me this was one of her favorites and I find it both intriguing and annoying when people tell me to read their favorite book unless I know we have similar taste. It's awkward when someone hands you a book and you can't get through it or dislike something that they adore. It could break up a friendship in extreme circumstances (Fitzgerald and Hemingway were frienemies because Hemingway didn't like Fitzgerald's writing-or-because he thought Fitzgerald was a pansy-don't quote me on that).

Just so happens Atwood is a fantastic writer. A good portion of the story is told as Grace, the main character, talking to a psychologist about her past. A very tricky thing to do well, but Atwood weaves the story's present in with the storytelling. Luckily, I will not be losing a friend on this one. It was a good recommendation.

Grace is a quiet woman and as you get to know her, she starts opening up. The story is based on true events. There was a Canadian woman murderess who killed her employer and the housekeeper. Grace is that woman. Through a back and forth between Grace's narrative and what is happening in the psychologists life, the audience is unsure about what the truth is or if Grace is an anti-social, psychotic murderer. While getting to know the character, it's hard to think of Grace as a murderess. She is well mannered, but strong in spirit. She takes her predicament in stride and carries her burden with...well, grace.

As I believe is Atwood's style, the story has a bit of a supernatural twist. You can pick it up from the beginning, but it's not meant to be a sci-fi novel and it certainly is not a central focus of the novel. Towards the end, it kind of threw me off because the novel was set so much in the rational and scientific look at the human brain and manner, that adding a supernatural element felt a bit out of place. Judge for yourself.

All in all, I would recommend this to the patient reader. It is a bit longer (480 pages) and takes some patience to invest in, but it is a wonderful piece of historical fiction. This is a character-centered book, so if you want to delve into the human psyche and get to know a famous murderess, give this a shot.

Also, if you have recommendations for me, I'm always more than happy to hear them. I love hearing about new material. Just take it with a grain of salt, because I might not read it, or, God forbid!, I might not like it. Hopefully, we can remain friends even if your favorite book rubs me the wrong way:)

Happy Reading.

The World IN an Oyster Shell.

There are situations in life that change a person's outlook, demeanor, attitude, and values. Of late I've been having silent, and sometimes out loud (though I don't like to admit it) discussions with myself. What changes a person? When is that change overbearing or the situation that caused said change not worth the outcome? When is it ok to stop yourself from experiencing something in order to keep yourself from getting hurt? O la vie. The book "Room" has added to my interior monologue and has hit home with greater force than expected.

In order to tell you about "Room" by Emma Donoghue, I have to dance around the whole thing, create similes, and eventually tell you just to read the damned book! It's got that whole "Sixth Sense" thing going on. I don't want to spoil any of it, but the main experience of this book is in the reading.

The book is written in first person narration from the point of view of a five year old named Jack. He and his mother live in Room. I know what you're thinking, 'Kristin, you're missing the article in front of the word room and room is not a proper noun'. Well first, get off your  high horse and second it is to Jack. Jack sees things differently than the average 5 year old because he has never been outside of Room. To him, the objects in the room he and Ma occupy are like people. The TV does not show real things, it's all fake. There is no world to Jack outside of Room.

Imagine the 'Allegory of the Cave', that annoying philosophical concept Plato put in place, as who Jack is and what his world consists of. Instead of shadows on walls, Jack has people in the TV. Outside of the cave, Plato's people see what real trees look like instead of just the shadows. As marvellous as that concept seems, to really see something for the first time both physically and cognitively, think of how confusing it would be. Donoghue dives into this concept and the story of a brilliant little boy and his world, thoughts, and emotions in "Room".

After reading this book I figure what changes me (people, situations, relationships) is so minuscule and insignificant in the grand scheme of things. There are others out there going through situations that will scar them for life, doing things my egocentric self cannot imagine, and having to learn to live in a world I take for granted.

The only concern I have about this book is that it will date itself quickly. Donoghue references popular kids shows and songs throughout the book. Ten years down the line, people may not know what those references mean. It is such a good read that it is tragic to think of it being outdated in a few decades.

The writing is phenomenal and this book makes for a quick read. Please pick it up. By page 2 you will be hooked.