CP, THE WAY I FOUND HER
Writing Tasks
Writing Tasks
You have been asked to write an article for a series on book based in Paris, saying why the city is important to the story and what atmosphere is created. Write about The Way I Found Her, saying in what way the city and setting are important to the novel.
Write you article.
“The novel shows the difficult transition from child to adult and many of the emotional and physical aspects of this change.” Write an essay for your tutor discussing these ideas in relation to the character of Lewis.
Write your essay.
3. An English language publication has asked for reviews of books that explore the theme of parents and children. Write a review of The Way I Found Her saying how it explores this theme and to what extent it does so in an interesting and original way.
Write your review.
The Character of Lewis, by Daniel Brint
Lewis is the central character of The Way I Found Her. He is also the narrator. This means the story is told through the eyes and words of a 13 year-old-boy. The first question I would ask is, therefore, how convincing is this narrator? Do we hear Lewis, or are we aware of the novelist imagining the thoughts of a 13 year old boy, admittedly a precocious and imaginative boy. Personally, I find a bit of both sensations. The Lewis who takes Sergei for walks, who is fascinated by the newness of things around him – even the Lewis who tries to solve the mystery, like a character from a detective novel he may well have read at school, seems to me an authentic voice. Also, the adolescent falling in love and idolizing an older woman is extremely believable. But sometimes Lewis is too knowing, too astute – too cynical to sound authentic. Perhaps in the end it doesn’t matter – sometimes the novelist has to let Lewis say certain things in order to keep the plot going, but I feel it detracts from the book in some ways. Lewis is, however, a very interesting narrator and I would like to explore some aspects of his character in more detail.
Lewis is a boy becoming a man, physically and emotionally. He is interested in sex and existentialism, but is still attached to his action man toy. Like most adolescents, he feels that his parents do not regard him as mature or independent – he is, in their eyes, still a child. To make this parent-child question more complex we have the figure of Alice. Alice is a mysterious, distant person who, like her son, probably lives a rich interior life. One of the consequences of Lewis being the narrator is that we are reliant upon his version of events. Is Alice really having an affair? Is she neglecting Lewis? Are they growing apart? According to Lewis, the answer to all these questions is “yes,” but we are never given corroborating evidence, that is, no one objectively confirms Lewis’ version of events.
Lewis has grown up in a quiet part of England in a quiet family. His imagination has been fed by books, mathematics and language. He suddenly finds himself in the intense social and literary world of Paris. This culture shock challenges what he knows and excites him – part of him is determined to experience life in a way that is unimaginable back in rural England.
Lewis’ rich imagination and considerable intelligence, driven by romantic ideas and desire are, eventually, the cause of both his and Valentina’s destruction. She dies, he suffers an emotional breakdown. Lewis forces himself upon events, he insists on getting involved, mainly as a way of proving his love and loyalty to Valentina, like a medieval knight wining the hand of his lady. By the end it seems clear that had he not interfered Valentina would have been rescued unharmed.
Because Lewis is so young it seems wrong to blame him, and anyway, I don’t think this is a novel about who is to blame, because that would mean calling everyone as witness – from mild-mannered Hugh to Joseph Stalin. The character of Lewis explores the transition of child to adulthood and the absurd mixture of chance and accident that often define an individual life.
AMAZON REVIEW
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