COMMENT
What was the your first impression about THE LANGUAGE of Christ when you started reading?
And how did you adapt to the text? What strategy did you adopt?
Write two distinct paragraphs.
REPLY: read the comments and reply to the one(s) that you find most unexpected.
These first few pages made me go through a number of emotions. When I read the first few words in the beginning of the book, I lost focus. I then decided to listen to the introduction video to understand what I was in store for. Professor Carasi, told us that we had to read each word slowly and out loud, either through or voice or in our mind. I took a few deep breathe to control my thinking, and went back to try the new approach. Reading each word out loud, I was able to fly through the first page and onto the second. I also was able to understand the context of what was happening.
ReplyDeleteOne part of the chapter that I really was drawn to was the writing style in the beginning of chapter two, on page 8. The second paragraph where Di Donato is doing a head count of all his men. I personally reread that paragraph a few times to try and decipher how many names their were between “Julio four” and “Pietro fifteen.” I kept counting only 11 or 12 possible names.I was enjoying that part because I personally enjoy puzzles, and that is how I saw it.
Hey Joanne,
DeleteThat's actually really funny now that you mention it, I previously did not realize that Di Donato was doing a head count of all his men. Thanks for the insight on that scene !
I did not pick up on that element of headcounting in the narrative, and I am glad that you shared it here. I also find it very interesting that you took the time to decipher the puzzle, as you say, in full; it reveals something about your character, and I think it is a very respectable approach to take in the reading of this text.
DeleteI also did not paid attention to that, you gave really good explanation to that!
DeleteIt initially took some time for me to get used to the language of this book. It was very different from other things I have read, but after I took some time to read the material slowly and get used to it, I found it much easier to understand. This book is definitely not the type of book you can read absentmindedly. It requires 100% focus. The lecture videos were very helpful in providing some examples for going about reading the rest of the book.
ReplyDeleteA piece of advice significant to me was to not focus on the little details, but rather the big picture. I typically tend to focus on small details of books and fixate on them. However, for this book i will try not to focus on who is saying each line, but rather on the context of the story. I think with these suggestions, reading the rest of the book will be less difficult and more enjoyable.
That part about focusing on the big picture instead of details is one that I forgot, even though I viewed the lecture beforehand. I got way too caught up in trying to understand everything going on that it took me much longer than it should have to analyze the text. Thanks!
DeleteGabriela, I agree. I also had a similar experience and had to really try hard not to get bogged down on the details.
DeleteI too have a problem with paying attention to the little details when I read books. I started doing that in the beginning and then remembered that in the lecture video Professor told us not to do that. Once I started focusing on the big picture, I started to understand Pietro Di Donato's style of writing more easily.
DeleteMy initial impression of the language was surprise. I had viewed Professor Carasi’s lecture prior to reading the first chapter, so I was aware of the style of writing and how to interpret it; but actually reading the pages for myself was a little more difficult. The book is unlike something I have ever read before, and I found that as I kept reading it was sticking more to me, and I grew to like this style of writing.
ReplyDeleteI originally tried to read the book to myself while I was coming back from work on the train. This was a huge mistake on my part because I could not concentrate like this book needed me to. I got home and re-read the pages, but this time I read them out loud over and over until I truly understood what was happening between the characters. Overall I would suggest to TAKE YOUR TIME when reading this book and devote some alone time to read it out loud if you are embarrassed to do it in front of people.
I watched Professor Carasi's lecture before reading the first 17 pages also and I think that helped- he was very helpful in the way he explained how the book would be. I agree with taking your time. I did not think of reading out loud- I always some how get distracted when I do so but maybe I will try to read out loud next time- supposedly it helps you remember things easier as well.
DeleteMy initial impression of Christ’s language was that of awe; I literally had to set the book down and shut my eyes in certain scenes in order to fully digest the scene Di Pietro was conveying. Di Pietro constructs his text around vivid imagery and rote details, which allows the reader to picture the material found in the text in ways way that would otherwise have been impossible. This is accomplished by incorporating authentic dialogue (translated to English verbatim) and genuine sentences spoken by unnamed speakers, elements not commonly found in other narratives.
ReplyDeleteIn response to this unique style of language and writing, I reread several passages and lines in order to take in the content. As the professor mentioned in the video lecture, a reading rhythm must be developed if one hopes to tackle a text as immersive and complex as Christ, and this is what I kept in mind as I read through. Towards the climax of “Geremio,” I discovered this rhythm, and it allowed me to effectively engage in and understand the story as a result.
Initially, I was taken aback by how difficult it was to read the text. I am not used to having to slow myself down and carefully dissect what is being said. I believe this is due to the fact that the author purposefully combines ideas, dialogue, and events in a blend that resembles one's thoughts more than concrete descriptions that someone would normally find in a book. Furthermore, I also discovered that by using this language, the author forces us to come up with our own imagery and conclusions of what the scene looks like instead of handing out a clear sentence that would do it for us.
ReplyDeleteIn order to adapt to this style of writing, I forced myself to read it slowly and carefully, as recommended by the professor. I also made sure that for the especially difficult sections, I was reading out loud. I had to separate the dialogue and descriptions for myself, which was a difficult task, so I also watched the lecture in order to get a better understanding of what was going on. By being instructed on how to read this book, I feel as though I was better prepared than if I had attempted to do it on my own.
At first, I was really surprised that a book could even been written this way. I never heard of such a thing where authors will go on for pages and pages with no punctuation, as far as I was concerned that was a run on sentence! I am an avid reader but not a slow one. It was hard for me to try and read slowly to understand what the author was writing about. I caught myself having to re-read a lot of the pages because I would get lost with what I was reading or did not understand what Di Donato was trying to say.
ReplyDeleteThe strategy that I adopted in order to understand this text was to definitely read slower. Like I said, I was never a very slow reader, I never really had to be because I always understood what I was reading, until now. When I was younger I remember my mom telling me to put a piece of paper under the line that I was reading in order to concentrate on just that one sentence. I started to do that again and found that it has helped!
Nina, I think we will need a little more than a piece of paper to help us with this one :-)!
DeleteIt took me a while to get through this text. At first, I felt like I was running a marathon trying to keep up with the characters and the action and the banter and talk between the characters. I often had to go back and re-read passages because I felt my mind wandering all over the place and I needed to re-focus.
ReplyDeleteTo get through this, I definitely had to slow down and read the text slower because I realized quickly that I wasn't retaining much. The professor's advice about not getting so hung up on the details was extremely useful as well because I tend to do that when I read and it was not helping me with this book. The slower pace helped but to be honest, it's a bit frustrating because it's not how I usually read a work. It has been an adjustment but now into the third chapter, it is getting easier.
The language used by Pietro Di Donato in “Christ in Concrete” is very unique. Initially, I found the language of the book to be challenging and exciting. The different structure and techniques Pietro Di Donato implements in his writing made me alter the way I usually read books. When I first started reading “Christ in Concrete”, I was expecting it to be a really tough read. I found reading slowly and frequently pausing to be beneficial in understanding Pietro Di Donato’s unique style of writing.
ReplyDeleteIn “Christ in Concrete”, Pietro Di Donato uses quotes very frequently. What makes his book distinguish itself from other books that frequently use quotes is the fact that most of the quotes in his book are written in “Italianized" english. In order to understand the Italian characters' accents, it is important to slowly read their quotes out loud. I found this reading technique to be extremely helpful.
My initial impression of the language that was used in this book was surprise. I never faced to this kind of writing before. Watching professor’s video where he gave us instructions on how to read the book really helped to start and read the book in the right way. There was so many new words for me and new structure of the sentences that I had to read them few times to understand the point. Comparing to Son of Italy I read this book very slow because of the new writing style that is in it.
ReplyDeleteI used all the instruction that professor gave us. For example, I started to read very slowly and out loud in my mind. Reading it slowly and repeat sentences that I do not understand helped me to get thru this reading. And advice about not paying attention to dialogs or small details also helped me, I tried to pay attention to emotions that characters of the book were experiencing.