Thursday, September 18, 2008

Jesus Land Details

Hi everyone,

I've been searching through our novel to find some touching pieces of detailed writing, and I believe that my favorite instance falls on page 73, pertaining to Jerome and David:
"The floodlights shine down on his back like a spotlight, and I cringe. Fat welts lace his skin like red leeches. Dad put them there last night, as punishment for running away and stealing the Corolla. Spare the rod and spoil the child.
Both boy's backs are riddled with welts, the fresh ones red, the old ones molted gray, the deeper ones hardened into jagged scars. They avoid taking off their shirts in public, and seeing their bare backs always makes my throat thicken, makes it hard to breath."

The great description of the leech-like welts on the back of Jerome's back as he plays basketball, followed by the italicized "proverb" that Dr. and Mrs. Scheeres modelled their parenting around, really gives a powerful recollection of a painful memory. For me, this passage was one of those that moved me to the point of wanting to read it over about three times before moving on to the next few pages. -Sofia R.

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