"Smoke clogged the air, a steady breeze carrying it across the bobbing water of the East River. Etta could taste it now at the back of her throat. Buried beneath the smell of charred wood was a rotting sweetness and hot manure" (Bracken 168).
As I said I would in my last post, I have read far further into Passenger, my selected novel. I have discovered that Alexandra Bracken, the author, not only uses imagery often, but uses strong words inside of that imagery. When words such as "clogged" and "hot" are used, readers can get a sense of how it was feeling at the time. This allows them to experience the book on a higher level, as they can associate the words with experiences I'm sure they've had in real life. In addition, Alexandra Bracken uses very specific words to convey her point. The words "charred" and "rotting sweetness" in the quote above are very specific and uncommon scents. By narrowing the smell down, readers know exactly what was being described. If anyone is interested in seeing what other readers make of Passenger and its style, here is a link to some comments regarding it https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/20983362-passenger?from_search=true .
As per usual, I will continue to update my blog as I discover more about my chosen work of literature and author. Until then, happy reading!
-Julia
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