There’s no ‘I’ in Tim
I can relate to Jonathan Harley’s experience. Well sort of. Instead of chaotic, poor, hot, sweaty India, I lived in chaotic, rich, cold, modern Tokyo. And instead of being a journalist I was an English teacher. And instead of saying goodbye to my girlfriend I said goodbye to my boyfriend. Okay so I can’t relate that much.
But I do know what it’s like moving to a new country and immersing yourself in a culture completely removed from your own. It can be exciting, frightening and often bizarre.
Harley has captured the insanity of his experience beautifully in the first few chapters of Lost in Transmission. When discussing his decision to move away from his new partner to a land far, far away, my heart was breaking with his. I genuinely felt quite sad for the both of them. I may have even shed a tear. Which has nothing to do with my own traumatising relationship experiences or the fact that I was badly hung-over when I read the article, thank-you very much!
What were we talking about? Ah that’s right, not me.
Harley’s use of descriptive language was particularly effective. I could see the airport in India, and could almost smell the streets of New Delhi. The characterisation was terrific. I got a real image in my head of these people and they quite often gave me a good laugh.
Using himself in the first person has worked well in this instance. This would be a difficult way to write an article as it could be quite easy to bugger it up. In the hands of a lesser writer it could sound egotistical and boring. His stories are endearing and you definitely want to continue reading to find out what happens next. I didn’t read the whole book of course but I imagine that Jonathan and Sarah got married, had babies and lived happily ever after in Tokyo. I mean India!
cardboardskies said,
May 16, 2010 at 6:06 am
Really enjoyed this Tim – I started thinking about my overseas ‘fish-out-of-water’ experience when I read the article too – he seemed to be able to evoke that feeling very well. I may have mentioned this before, but I really like the tone of your posts – it’s spot on I reckon – friendly, funny and insightful. Thanks for this!
maryrcruz said,
May 16, 2010 at 7:05 am
There’s nothing better than gauging a reader’s empathy, and yeah totally, how can you demonstrate important details and experiences without using ‘I’?! Oh, and I enjoyed reading your post too!
thisisgettingsilly said,
May 16, 2010 at 8:54 am
Thanks guys. Yeah I thank Harley’s descriptive language was as good as the article Nickel and Dimed. I got a really clear picture of locations and characters in both.