By the Numbers: The Road to Cao Bang Book

At this point in this series, I'm finally reading parts of the story that I haven't read before. Rather than re-reading dimly remembered story from the past, I'm reading entirely new material.

Understandably, this has changed my perception of the books a bit.

But, as always, there are two important questions that have to be asked. The essential questions.

Am I enjoying it?

I'm going to have to answer this with a slightly qualified yes.

I'm still curious about the story. I'm still emotionally engaged with the characters. I still CARE what happens.

But I'm not really sucked in at this point. I'm not obsessed and compelled to constantly read it.

It's a hard thing to define. I'm interested. I'm in. But I'm also feeling kinda... 'Meh' about the series.

Is this the end of the world? No. But at the same time, it's not a great thing for a story.

Warning: authorial musing ahead.

When I see something like this happen to a story, I always wonder why I'm having a particular reaction to it.

It's one thing to simply not enjoy a story. That's just an issue of taste and flavor.

But when your enthusiasm for a story starts to cool... that's really interesting to me. Because it means that something in the story was there, and you liked it, and now it has *stopped* working, at least for me as a reader.

My tuppenny theory is this. I think this is a lack of distinct narrative through-line.

To put it more simply. I think it's all about the plot. Or the lack of one.

This is a curious thing for me to think. Because in my own writing I am not very good at plot. It's actually fair to say that I'm distinctly bad at plot. If you're kind, you could call me plot-challenged.

But it's precisely because I have a hard time with plot that I spend a lot of time thinking about it. If it came naturally, I'd just do it.

But it doesn't, so I have to work harder on plot than other authors. Just like someone with a learning disability has to study much harder than your average student.

It's not that there's no plot. It's that the plot is loose and jumbled.

This is more of a character story. A story about the relationship of two people. And these people with problems continue to have problems. These people who make mistakes make the same mistakes.

It is, in fact, very much like real life.

While this makes the story very realistic. It also makes it less satisfying. Less compelling.

This is what plot gives us. I know this because I'm bad at plot. I tend to write loose, rambly character-centered stories. I want things to feel real. But I also want them to be gripping and satisfying and narratively pleasing. These two elements are often at odds.

Suffice to say that it's interesting for me to read another work of fiction that is struggling to balance these two things.

I'm also aware that my personal tanglement with these issues probably makes me hyper critical in this particular area. Damaging my immersion in the story, making me enjoy it less.

2. Is it still worth reading?

Yes. Especially if you're in it for the characters. If you enjoy stories about stories. If you like the meta. If you're into indi comics. If you like feeling all the feels.