LOST MEMORY OF SKIN

Russell Banks

Part three, chapters; five, six, seven and eight

I love that bird in your profile picture, Suzanne. A parrot for this story? Or a large budgie maybe?

I'm going to drop out of the discussion for a few days - the book's got to go back to the library tomorrow. I'll re-order it right away - unless I get lucky and there's another copy I can just scoop off the shelf.

This book has held my interest, opening up a lot of thought, so I'll definitely come back to it.

The bird in the picture is a green cheek conure. It is a small parrot. I have one named Cricket. She is a blast to have around. I had to potty train her so her first word she spoke was poopie, lol

Well I still don't feel sorry for the Kid. But at least he is talking. And one thing different about him is that he is curious about the other men in the encampment. Now he wants to know their story. Perhaps to make him feel more normal?

He's on this kick about normal lately. What is normal? How often have we read and heard about someone doing something that is gastly, only to hear the neighbors, friends, co-workers say "he looked so normal?"

As for the crime, he was set up. You can see that coming. But he knew what he was doing on that chat line with a 14 year old and he knows it was illigal. So he is still guilty in my books. But I do believe he can be rehabilated now. I'll give him that much.

I thin perhaps the Kid is trying to discover normal. He has never really experienced it. Or, is Banks asking us to question normal?

I see Kid having a continuing internal conflict over himself as normal v. defective. He has stated that some things about him are not normal and that in other ways he feels overly normal. Is this something to make us feel like Kid is not as "defective" as we may want to see him or is this to make us feel like this can be any one of us.

I see that Kid was and is continually reaching out for human contact. He spoke with this girl online and seemed to be excited by the contact. He knew it was wrong to let he conversation turn sexual. He kept turning the conversation, but eventually he gave in and let the conversation go where it would. By packing condoms to meet this girl, it does speak to intent, but how much pressure is a person able to put up with? Is this something we are meant to think about? Kid has talked about his lack of need for other people. Iggy was his only friend and the only one he ever seemed to love and care about. He does not miss his mom until he ends up under the Causeway. He then wants to hear more about the men he lives with as well as the professor. He is reaching out to learn about people. I assume this is something he has always wanted, but may not have been aware of.

His lack of human contact is interesting. His mother is not overly concerned by his over-consumption of porn and does not seem to be able to care for him (or his Iguana for that matter). She hangs up on him when he calls from jail. His only sexual experiences have been from porn and he never has physical contact with the men under the Causeway. Lack of physical contact is harmful for people and I wonder if this may not have been a piece of what makes Kid who he is.

That and the lack of discipline. When she went to wake him up and noticed that there was some porn show going on on the Kids lap top what does she do? She sits down and watches it. I couldn't believe it!