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(If youre new, you might catch up onpart one hereandpart two here.)
And his neurosis with his family makes perfect sense in a way thats obvious but satisfying.
Emily Gould:I also really appreciated the contrast with Beamer.
At the same time, the stakes of how Nathan is failing this are so plausibly small.
Again, the factory is also so clearly at the heart of what this story is.
Im like,yes, give me this.
That made it feel like the stakes were more meaningful.
Zach: The way that the wealth affects him is also the most interesting.
Its not Jenny who can just be listless.
Its not Beamer who can be a fuckup.
Its Nathans ability to not excel but still keep working.
Its like the wealth gives him a level of comfort to stick with the status quo.
Theres a way more interesting thing about the security of the money there than in the other two.
Jason P. Frank:I also had a much stronger reaction to this section.
Is there a reason why it couldnt go first?
I think its a stronger section.
It would make sense to run down the siblings in order of age.
Its stylistically a lot more flashy.
I think theres a lot more style and I dont mean that positively or negatively to the Beamer section.
So I understand in that way, but would it work if Nathan went first?
Would it work better?
Beamers thing, its so wrapped up in the kidnapping.
Im honestly almost more interested in whats going on back there I dont care about Hollywood in comparison.
So Beamer is a detour youre going to read to get back to Middle Rock.
I sort of bought that.
To me he looked like RFK Jr. That relationship made perfect sense to me.
I did think it was over-the-top with the kangaroo, but I never once doubted they stayed friends.
Maybe the bullying is a segue into considering Nathans status in his workplace alongside his fumbled attempt at blackmail.
What did you think about his attempt to take over the narrative?
Emily: Maybe Nathans fatal flaw is that he overcorrects in these situations.
I dont actually know what he could have done instead of blackmailing.
He was sort of painted into a corner in that whole situation.
Julie: I think the depiction of anxiety and OCD in this is pretty convincing.
That felt extremely real and exactly what a character like him would do.
Zach: Nathan in some way seems like the least affected by the kidnapping.
Nathans thing is about needing the approval of his mother and not in the same way as Jenny.
And I think actually the same is true for Mickey.
I know where they met on campus.
Kathryn:It helps so much that Alyssa is messed up about this.
Whereas Charlie is like,Ive figured it out.
I think thats actually really compelling when this book is about,what is Jewish American culture?
And what is actual Jewish religion?
