Blog 9: Likability

How likable is the narrator of your book?

For the genre book selection I chose to read Eleanor and Park by Rainbow Rowell which is actually told by not one but two narrators. The book is structured so that within each chapter there are many individual sections which switch between the perspective of either Eleanor or Park. In essence, the story embodies the love journey of these two very different characters and the numerous “bumps in the road” that they face along the way. In my opinion, I think that both Eleanor and Park are likeable narrators. I don’t know if I would necessarily deem them as my favorite narrators, but they get the job done. Eleanor is what some might call “the new girl on the block”. She has just moved back in with her broken family and her main goals are to lay low, keep to herself, and stay out of everyone’s business. Being the new girl, however, Eleanor has a hard time sticking to her original plans. Not only is she the new girl in town but she also happens to have an extremely quirky, somewhat odd appearance. The combination of her wild, red hair, her homeless-man-attire, and her slightly large body is enough to draw the attention of nearly everyone in the school, and not in a good way. The kids at school call her “big red” and make fun of her in every way they see fit. They play harsh pranks like stealing her clothes and decorating her locker with feminine products. And to top it off, no one lets her sit with them on the bus regardless of if their seat is open or not. No one except for Park- that is. Though he is reluctant at first, Park, being the kind-hearted person that he is, caves and tells Eleanor she can sit with him by cursing at her in almost a yelling manner. But no worries, after they realize that they share a love for comics and music, their relationship begins to blossom and the two fall madly in love. What’s strange, though, is that Park, unlike Eleanor, not only comes from a typical, picture perfect family with money, food, clothes, etc., but he also is decently attractive whereas Eleanor is quite the opposite. I guess it makes sense though, after all, opposites do attract. Although their love story is somewhat stereotypical, the combination of their unlikely acquaintance, their devotion to one another, and their unique personalities leads them to be quite likeable narrators.