1. First Half of Fluorescence

     When I first read half of Fluorescence, I got really frustrated. I couldn't figure out much other than what was explicitly there. I read it again a few times more and I started thinking that maybe that was the point. It may not be correct but I think that so far there might not be that much to get.
     As for the content of the book, I've put together so far that the main character, who I believe is a she, has had to move away from her home due to a war. It is also apparent that she is alone. A couple times in the book it leads one to think that she has one other person with her, perhaps her significant other. The main character has mentioned a few times that she has no one to call. This makes a reader wonder why. Where is her family? Were they victims of the war?
     As for the structure, I think it isn't supposed to make sense because it is written in her mind. It's her way of thinking and maybe she can't really form a complete thought with everything that is happening to her. Her mind keeps jumping from thought to thought not lingering long enough to finish most of them. As the story goes on, her thoughts begin to string together and they start making more sense, but in the beginning they were really confusing.
     On page 17 the line, "everything was foreign back home" really stood out to me. It seemed like an oxymoron. Home is supposed to be anything but foreign but she says that everything is foreign. I started thinking that maybe the war made it foreign. Maybe all the bombs and fatalities made it foreign. I realized how sad and how lonely that thought was. Home is supposed to be familiar and welcoming. I went to Trinidad and Tobago for a while and it was great but once I returned home, I took a deep breath as soon as I got off of the plane because Michigan air is so much different from Trinidad air. It was familiar and it felt good to be home again because I'd missed it more than I realized. To not have home anymore or to have it turned into something else, something that makes it foreign, unrecognizable would be so horrible. That line really packs a punch when you think about it. It really gives you an idea on how the character must really feel. The character lets the reader into her mind more than she lets the reader into her emotions.