Miles From Nowhere--Nami Mun ( Book Chat Wrap-up)

One unexpected side effect of participating in the noon-time book-chats: I'm tired of looking at the same cover over and over. I found this one at Evene, where one can also find a summary of the book in French.

While looking for an image for this post, I came across an audio interview with Nami Mun by Tom of Omnivoracious, which really helped my clarify my own thoughts.

I was expecting a glimmer of hope to appear at the end, and so is Mun--hoping, that is, that her readers will see the hope. After listening to the interview, I do see it. It's very subtle. Subtle, like the tiny dot at the end of this sentence. But it's there, in a bit of foreshadowing (does it count as foreshadowing, if it refers to something that happens after the timeline of the story?), and in a girl's refusal to walk away.

For me, the biggest glimmer of hope is Nami Mun herself. Like Joon, she left home at a very young age, and no doubt had a lot to overcome to get herself off the streets. She then spent eight years distilling the emotions and relationships she experienced, into fictional episodes that would become this book.

The soundtrack: It has to be Miles From Nowhere, by Cat Stevens. If the book didn't leave you with a sense of hope, the song will.

More wrap-up posts on: Pop culture Junkie and Presenting Lenore, and soon to come on J.Kaye's Book Blog.

Miles From Nowhere--Nami Mun (Noontime Book Chat)

It's noon (Pacific Time) and time for today's book chat!

On Monday we discussed the first chapters at J. Kaye's Book Blog.
Tuesday we continued the discussion at Pop Culture Junkie,
Yesterday we were at Presenting Lenore,
And tomorrow J. Kaye, Alea, Lenore and I will each have a summary post and/or review.

Today we're discussing King's Manor and Queens House of Detention.

First, I want to say that the chapters before these two were the highlight of the book for me so far. They were sad and disturbing, yes, but crazy and funny as well. I did a lot of laughing.

Now things are turning darker again, and while there is some humor in attempting to kill yourself with antibiotics, Coke, and Pop Rocks, it loses its funniness when the next step is to start using again.

I am anxiously waiting for the "something resembling hope" which was promised in the front matter.

When Benny's introduced, for example, I was expecting something good to come of her relationship with him. She indicates from the start that he'll be around for a while, and yet I don't see what purpose he serves in the plot. If it's someone for her to start using with again, why not let Frank be that person? I don't see any emotional connection between Joon and Benny. So, what do you think the purpose of Benny is, at this point of the story?

My other question is, what is Joon seeking in these chapters? Early on, I thought she was searching for a relationship that would fill the void left by her father. But when Ray attempts to connect with her, she backs away from him: "I had nothing left to give." Even finding her father seems to only bring more emptiness. What, if anything, would heal her and allow her to move on?