The Velvet discussion

What do you think of the characters so far?

How do you feel about the unusually large number of first-person perspectives? Is the book successful with handling so many characters?

Who are your favorite characters?

Do you dislike any of them?

How does each character make him/herself indispensable to the overall narrative?

Good questions. Just to keep them fresh, here is the cast, the main characters:

Jacob
Marcy
Jimmy
X
Gordon
Assigned
Roland

also...Madison

X is a great stand-alone character. I can still see him clearly in my head.

I like that Marcy is a mother--without losing her individuality. I feel like becoming a mother can cause a woman to sort of fall off the earth, as far as social relevance from the male POV.

I liked Roland too. He felt especially real to me.

Who would you cast in those roles? Do you see any particular actors? I have my list in mind, of the entire six, plus Madison, but I'd like to see how you picture them.

Darn, I'm blank. I don't know. That's a great question though. Maybe you should PM me your picks--if you don't want to post them here, that is.

I'd post them up here but I don't want to ruin it for anybody. I'll PM you the list I had from before I started the book.

Marcy's aggressive sexuality initially put me off, but I suppose it goes along with her character. I didn't believe Marcy's description of herself at first, as it was written in terms that a horny male would use. But then, as her character developed, I realized that this sexuality is who she is.

A bit later there is a little hint at why she is who she is. A letter from her father.

At this point I'm only at p.40, but here's some early impressions:

I like Assigned's character for the way Mr. Thomas uses the computer's output to further (and deepen) the story. It's not something I've seen a lot, and rarely is it used so well.

I also like Roland's character. He seems clever and independent, and willing to take his fate into his own hands. He's not afraid to give the middle finger to authority and speak his mind.

Gordon's character is fun because he's in on something that we're not completely sure of yet.

I think each character brings something unique to the table, and I'm equally interested in each of their stories.