One of my favorite prose passages on an IB Literature exam is from Lanark by Alasdair Gray, a Scottish author. I have thought about buying the book since first giving this practice exam to students and finally found time to do so. Thanks to being both home and sick this weekend, I had time to start reading.
The book is divided into four parts, each one depicting a time in someone's life. The story starts with Book 3, which is followed by the prologue, then books one, two and four. My guess is that the passage on the exam takes place in either books 1 or 2, and I find myself wishing I didn't have that glimpse into the past/future. The start of book 3 is a little confusing and very dystopian -- the perfect book for me! The protagonist does not appear to remember anything about his past, and at the end of chapter 3 the reader finds out how little of his life he does remember. The world in which he lives is dark -- physically and metaphorically. He is fascinated with, and drawn to, the few glimpses of daylight he manages to observe. No one else appears to care about, or even notice, hints of dawn. No one appears to have any purpose in life.
At one point in the IB passage, a character explains that he is trying to bring more light and air into his style of painting, and this one line has stayed in the forefront of my mind the entire time I have been reading this book. It is difficult to not skim through the book and try to put the passage into context. However, I think that doing so would ruin my reading of everything that leads up to it. Gray must have a reason for structuring the novel in this way, and I want to read it the way he intended. I already know that this is a book that I will read more than once, so I don't want to ruin what will be my only time to allow the story to be revealed to me incrementally.
I don't know when I will have time to read for pleasure again, but I will update my blog once I get a little further into this book.
