Q3: Shardik the Bear
Shardik seems to represent something greater than a bear to the characters in the novel. In this sense we can compare this to other novels like Sarah Canary, where the characters ascribe meaning to the inexplicable title character, or Roadside Picnic where characters draw meaning from The Zone, or even Moby Dick. Do you like this trope in fiction? How does Shardik compare to these or other similar novels you’ve read?
Comments
Yes, totally, and this approach has a lot of mileage (my comments to your second discussion starter notwithstanding
). This particular trope is one that I like, particularly when you get to experience the same events or individuals in opposite ways by different characters.
So this facet of Shardik I appreciated, even though I thought the handling of religious or spiritual matters to be lazy. I guess I found the writing style disappointing compared to those other books you mention - it seemed very long-winded (both in individual snippets - nay, pages - of description and for the book as a whole), and the writing didn't draw me into the world.
I'm down with a really big nasty bear (the scene from the move The Revenant was great and terrifying as well).
I liked that it was always left ambiguous as to whether he was truly who they believed he was, or merely a perfectly coincidental match for those beliefs just due to circumstance.
I can't say I've read a lot of books that use this feature (or maybe I just can't remember them). Never read Moby Dick.