tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8972120889629675714.post327483722615159588..comments2024-02-25T05:24:24.948-05:00Comments on Beyond Easy: One last post about The ZeroesPatrick Rhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02410016566636603639noreply@blogger.comBlogger7125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8972120889629675714.post-33785349904589056132015-03-16T23:04:09.569-04:002015-03-16T23:04:09.569-04:00I grew up in The Southern Tier of Upstate New York...I grew up in The Southern Tier of Upstate New York. The mall and punk/ska scene of The Zeroes would have fit perfectly in any of the mall towns up there.<br /><br />I escaped to the larger world beyond the hills. After some years abroad, and a lot of hard studying, I found some perspective and a bit of peace. The economic hardship never really went away, but a bit of perspective helps make it bearable. Now, for the time being, I am in NYC.Natebardhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02256662098423148041noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8972120889629675714.post-91035903663015896282015-03-15T17:56:40.458-04:002015-03-15T17:56:40.458-04:00I've stopped screaming, but I'm still kick...I've stopped screaming, but I'm still kicking.Patrick Rhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02410016566636603639noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8972120889629675714.post-54203116727595139872015-03-15T17:56:03.115-04:002015-03-15T17:56:03.115-04:00Out of curiosity, where did you come from? And whe...Out of curiosity, where did you come from? And where did you escape to?<br /><br />(I should have asked this maybe two weeks earlier, huh?)Patrick Rhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02410016566636603639noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8972120889629675714.post-66781897303503099032015-03-15T17:55:04.429-04:002015-03-15T17:55:04.429-04:00The most miserable moments always felt like a natu...<em>The most miserable moments always felt like a natural outgrowth of bad decisions the characters made, and you knew them well enough to know why they would make these mistakes.</em><br /><br />You know, you've basically described the formal engine of Classical tragedy right there. Of course, the Greeks and Jacobeans would also say that nobility is a requisite for tragedy, so I doubt The Zeroes would qualify by their standards.Patrick Rhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02410016566636603639noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8972120889629675714.post-28039323271992898182015-03-01T22:07:44.542-05:002015-03-01T22:07:44.542-05:00I don't think it was nihilistic. I think it w...I don't think it was nihilistic. I think it was real. What I loved about it was that we all know someone or were someone who just knew deep down in their bones that they were going to do something great, but eventually had to get on with their lives. The book encapsulated the blind optimism of adolescence, the creeping realizations of your realizing your dreams getting further and further away in your early 20's, and the ultimate submission that comes with adulthood as times change and our values change (whether it's comfortable to admit or not). Life moves forward and so do we, sometimes kicking and screaming, sometimes not. Part of growing up is learning this, and learning to cope with it.Smalldormfridgehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10717089507461772880noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8972120889629675714.post-74905593986153657422015-02-27T14:03:27.509-05:002015-02-27T14:03:27.509-05:00I loved the Zeroes because it reversed our expecta...I loved the Zeroes because it reversed our expectations of change: the environment kept changing, in both real and superficial ways, but the characters refused to accept it. It seemed hauntingly and disturbingly real to me as a result. I know people like that. I could have become like that if I hadn't climbed through a trapdoor. As an optimist, I kept seeing all these opportunities for positive change in the story, and the frustration I felt every time the characters missed those opportunities made me feel closer to the people from my childhood who are like them. It made me feel closer to home than I have in a long time, sadness and all.<br /><br />I don't think the work (or its author) is nihilistic. It just captures the portrait of those people who aren't able to escape. The reader can see the windows and doors that the characters miss. It's not empty. It's tragic.Natebardhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02256662098423148041noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8972120889629675714.post-78126022109345116222015-02-26T10:33:12.399-05:002015-02-26T10:33:12.399-05:00One of the things I really admired about the book ...One of the things I really admired about the book was how its hopelessness was never artificial or engineered. The most miserable moments always felt like a natural outgrowth of bad decisions the characters made, and you knew them well enough to know why they would make these mistakes. It's a bummer in the best way, because it connected to me and moved me. I recognized a lot of my own experiences in there.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com