One element of The Forbidden Zone that really stuck out to me was Borden’s realization that trying to write in chronological order would be a lie and take away from the impact of World War I which caused great confusion. To me, this fragmented writing style seemed more authentic than that of Remarque’s or Smith’s despite The Forbidden Zone being a much less popular book than All Quiet on the Western Front and Not So Quiet. I was just wondering what everyone else’s view on this was and if you enjoyed reading this style of writing more than a more traditional writing like All Quiet? Also, do you think if these books were all released now, The Forbidden Zone would be the top-seller?
Literature of the Great War
ENGL 348. Spring 2022. Dr. Scanlon.
Hi Aiden! Borden’s style reads like Modernist poetry and “T F Z” was one of the best things I have read in a long time. Mary Borden’s writing style really appeals to me because of it’s beauty and power. I did some research and apparently the original 1929 editions also contained 5 long poems by Borden. First editions of this work cost over 1500.00 dollars but I found a website that has the pdf online. This archive allows you to borrow texts by the hour for free. The poems are at the end of her book.
https://archive.org/details/forbiddenzone00bord
I feel like I have my different reasons for liking both styles. With the books that we’ve read so far, having the events play out in chronological order made for a relatively smooth storytelling experience that felt like it flowed well. The more traditional storytelling made for books that would sell to a lot of people. However, I think Borden’s nonlinear storytelling actually speaks better to experiences of the war we’ve heard about. Things become so stressful and traumatic that, although one can remember specific events that happened in vivid detail, everything starts to blur together, and they maybe can’t remember exactly what year or day a specific event happened. It felt more like a true firsthand account than our other stories. While I like both a lot, I’ve really grown to love “The Forbidden Zone”.
I agree I really enjoyed these both styles of writing I find it fascinating. I liked the story “The Forbidden Zone” because you had to really focus compared to the other text that we have read in class.
Interesting observation!