Today we explored what the annotation we’ve been discussing looks like in practice. I shared a couple of annotated pages, and my colour coding system.

Here are the all the notes from these pages:

Colour and Metaphor

“It felt as though the whole globe was dressed in snow. Like it had pulled it on, the way you pull on a jumper.”

Use of Listing

• There were two guards.
• There was a mother and her daughter.
• One corpse.
• The mother, the girl and the corpse remained stubborn and silent.

Introducing minor characters first. A “periodic structure” building tension

“The guards were tall and short. The tall one always spoke first, though he was not in charge. He looked at the smaller, rounder one. The one with the juicy red face.”

German – clues to setting

“Spinnst du?”

Implausible imagery

“His skin widened. ”

Personifying the colour and the snow. There’s a naiivity to this.

“who”

Dischordant level of specificity. More information given about where he stands than the soul in his arms, which he treats with neutrality. 

“I stood a little to the right.”

Pop culture reference!

“ dynamic train guard duo”

Can he truly be perceived?

“ I clearly remember that my breath was loud that day. I’m surprised the guards didn’t notice me as they walked by.”

Cliff-hanger

“Tears were frozen to the book thief’s face.”