Seite - 237 - in Über Bücher reden - Literaturrezeption in Lesegemeinschaften

© 2021 V&R unipress, Brill Deutschland GmbH ISBN Print: 9783847113232 – ISBN E-Lib: 9783737013239 wasultimatelyexcusedbyanengrossingplot,asoneexplains:“itendedupthatI got used to the phrasing but I didn’t like theway shewas trying to embody the character as illiterate, andwhat shewas trying todowith the phrasing” (DG2). Readersalsoengagedinsense-makingaroundcharacters’actions.Therealism and“humanness” (DG1)of the characterswasa strong theme in thediscussion groups, and readers considered characters’motivations, misunderstandings, fears,andfoibles.Onedescribedhow“Sarahhadflaws,andsheconfessedtothat. Imean,we foundoutabouther goodandherbad side.”Another agreed saying, “that was good. She was very real” (DG1). The readers connected with the characters in the novel; and readers focused onwhether characters’ behaviour wasrealistic.Onereadernotedthat“evenifyoudidn’t like[acharacter],youhad … some feelings for them” (FG1). Participantsindicatedthatuncertaintyaboutmotivationsdoesnotnecessarily detract fromtheauthenticityofcharacters. Ifreadersareunsurewhyacharacter acts in a particularway, for example acting rashly, or out of guilt, this is often taken to bemore indicative of understandable emotions, or the human con- dition, thanamischaracterizationby theauthor.Forexample,membersof FG1 questionedtheseeminglymodernbehaviourofSarah, intravellingalonetoNew Zealand.This senseofunderstanding thecharacter allowed the readers toenter into thediegesis, resulting inanemotional response to the story: I mean, oddly enough it was very moving, and it was shocking, what happened to [Sarah’sniece].…I foundthedepictionof thatmorepersonally,emotionallyaffecting, emotionally, than the actual Aboriginal atrocity that took place at the end of Secret River,…….And tome, thatwas likea– interesting thatwehumansare–wecanget more boundup in thedeath of oneperson thanwe can in the death of thousands of people. (DG1) This final quotationprovides auseful link to the second themeof interest, self- reflexivity,bywhichwemeantheprocessthroughwhichreadersusenarrativeto reflect on themselves and their lives. Participantsconsideredreadinghistorical fictionasa“doorway” intohistory: it isdifferentreadingit inanovelversusreadingit inanewspaperversusreadingit ina history book. You relate to the characters in a differentway, you aremorewilling to interactwiththecharacters… [it takesyouintothehistory]yeah, it takesyouin,gives you thatdoorway. (DG1) As readers discussed the facts of history, they actively reflected on the sig- nificance of these for themselves and for others: both in the past and in con- temporary social relations.Readers’ responses, and the subsequentdiscussions that book clubs generate, go beyond a literary analysis of authenticity. They representaformofactiveengagementthatwerefertoasreflexivity,whichspans ReadingFiction,TalkingReconciliation 237 Open-Access-Publikation im Sinne der CC-Lizenz BY 4.0