Everytime Smithy and Norma talk, I just end up feeling really bad for Norma. Obviously, Norma is the closest friend Smithy has at the moment, and so he decides to share his whole journey with her. At first, their conversations are so awkward and are almost unbearable to read, but later on in the book, they become more familiar with each other. But even though they are getting used to talking to each other, their phone calls never fail to make me feel a tad bit uncomfortable.
First, I don’t know how they can be fine with the awkward pauses. After almost every pause, one of them asks if the other is still on the line. Maybe they don’t have that much to talk about, but I would expect they wouldn’t waste their infrequent conversations with frequent silent pauses.
Another reason is just Norma. Oh, poor Norma. When she and Smithy are ending their phone calls, she almost always says something like: “I love you, Smithy.” But Smithy never replies back “I love you too”! The only time he mentions the word “love” to her, is when he reads his letter. He initially doesn’t want to say it, instead he says “Good Bye, Smithy”, but then tells her. It’s just disappointing and I end up feeling really bad for Norma. I know Smithy has feelings for her, but it’s so unfortunate for both the reader and Norma that he hasn’t figured out how to convey them to her.
All in all, I’m glad Norma’s and Smithy’s relationship is growing, and that they are becoming more comfortable. I really hope Smithy will soon be able to say the word “love” to her, because, from the narration of the dream and purchasing of the book, we know Smithy does have feelings for Norma. He just needs to learn how to come out of his shell and express them, which is what I hope will be one of the outcomes of his long, adventurous journey.
I agree. I think that Norma and Smithy's relationship is growing and, if Smithy would learn to express his feelings, they would be that much closer, and maybe even become a couple.
ReplyDeleteThe pauses are becoming less awkward. In chap. 43 Smithy even refers to one as "Another Smithy-Norma pause. A nice pause. A moment filled up and not at all uncomfortable." We can't tell whether Norma feels the same way, of course, but it can be a measure of closeness and comfort when two people are comfortable *not* talking, just being together (in this case, over a phone line). I do want him to say *something* when she says she loves him--those moments do feel awkward. But he does (finally, after hemming and hawing) sort of mumble out that he signs his unsent "letter" to her "love, Smithy"--so he sort of says it and sort of doesn't.
ReplyDeleteBut aren't pauses built into their strange relationship? The whole struggle to restore this friendship--or establish it at all, as adults--entails getting over a long and *very* awkward pause, with poor Norma stuck behind the venetian blinds. It's like they can only talk in this mediated, telephone context. But the pauses are becoming comfortable, and that seems to me a form of intimacy.