Wu Ting
How would you interpret the last sentence? Mr. Lincoln Barnes, my Mr. Lincoln. He means well. A second novel makes me “a novelist,” says he, and therefore duty-bound to meet my editor in New York. He can’t know how entirely it’s out of the question. He should invite me to dance with angels on the head of a pin, I’d sooner try, if I could do it from home. But my failure will mean conceding every battle. Beginning with my title, Where the Eagle Eats the Snake. “Wrong,” he pronounced yesterday on the telephone. “People hate snakes.” Well then, wouldn’t they be happy to see an eagle tearing one to pieces, sitting on a cactus plant? The dust-jacket art seems ready made. He is keen to call it Pilgrims of Chapultepec. Americans take “pilgrim” to mean the fellow in buckled shoes with hands folded in prayer. And the unpronounceable remainder, as dubious as Brand X soap.How would you interpret the last sentence: And the unpronounceable remainder, as dubious as Brand X soap? Does it mean Americans also take ‘pilgrim’ to mean the unpronounceable remainder? What’s the meaning of unpronounceable remainder here? How would you interpret ‘as dubious as Brand X soap’? Thanks! And It’s from The Lacuna by Kingsolver.
Jan 28, 2015 8:09 AM
Answers · 1
1
The title "Pilgrims of Chapultepec" is being separated into two parts, the first being pilgrims. The remainder is Chapultepec, which is a mouthful (unpronounceable). The phrase "as dubious as Brand X soap" can be interpreted variously, I suppose. A generic brand is less expensive, but may have quality issues.
January 28, 2015
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