Changes

So what went wrong? Basically as Janie grows up the humour fades and only sadness and frustration remains. There's a glimmer of hope at the end but, in order to get there, Janie watches her family become more touched and tainted by drugs and sees them become more desperate as the lights at the end of the tunnel translate into oncoming trains. Yes, this is bound to happen to some extent as a teenage Janie will understand more than when she was a small child and misunderstanding amusingly. Yes, this can be seen as a good device to emphasise the starkness of life for 'Janies' everywhere. But after a while it becomes very difficult to read as it feels as if the reader is being bludgeoned with blunt hopelessness. Perhaps looking at it like a painting will explain more clearly. The first half of the novel does have moments of despair and sadness, but the humour ensures that the darkness is picked out in a contrast that brightens it and enables the reader to see more clearly. If we're likening it to other authors, it's similar to what [[:Category:Willy Russell|Willy Russell]] does. The second half is just shades of black on black making it harder to see and absorb, like a depressed [[:Category:Thomas Hardy|Thomas Hardy]].