Challenge 964

DIY Reading

In Channie Greenberg’s Jim-Jam O’Neily:
1. In the 24 chapters (23 chapters + the epilogue): Is there a single instance of dialogue? There is an instance of monologue. Where is it?
2. Is there any passage where a character is described — rather than named — as doing something?
3. Does this novel fit any conventional definition of the genre? How might the style compare with that of the nouveau roman, as in Alain Robbe-Grillet’s La Jalousie (1957)?
4. About how many conventional novels could be derived from the current text by using it as an author’s notebook?
In Nemo West’s A Plan:
1. Why did Deak’s ancestors not plunder the Spero of its treasure to begin with rather than leave it in the swamp?
2. What might one think of Deak himself, especially since he expects too many people to keep his secret?
In J. C. Miller’s A Bishop for Mars: Does the Martian church’s solution to the question of electing a pope differ significantly from that of the Protestant denominations on Earth?
In David Rudd’s Loco Pete’s Leap: Have times really changed all that much since the days of Loco Pete? What might be substituted for “gold” these days?
In Gary Clifton’s Tranquility’s Limit: Why will the rookie, Rose Garcia, very likely object to Wafer’s request that she and Mama Jean help heave Low Ball’s unconscious body into the patrol car?