Outside Reading Q3 Blog

As we get further into the book Atmospheric Disturbances by Rivka Galchen the characters are further developed. It becomes evident that Dr. Liebenstein himself seems to be not thinking straight after dealing with so many psychiatric patients. After becoming obsessed with finding the “real” Rema and Harvey, he seems to be going a little mad himself. He says: "I walked over to Broadway, went underground, boarded the number 1 train heading downtown. Each time new passengers came on, I watched expectantly. Near the bottom of the island, I exited, ascended, crossed the street, redescended, waited, and reboarded the subway going uptown."(33). In this primary investigation of where Harvey is we already begin to see him going slightly crazy. We cannot help but wonder what he will be like as time goes on and he continues his search. This may help support a theme in ones efforts to help another, one can become pained and troubled themselves.

Continuing in the novel Liebenstein is further developed. We see how he often becomes very uncomfortable in certain situations. Rivka Galchen tells us:  "In order to avoid saying thank you, upon prompting, for things I wasn't truly thankful for,I would bury my face in my mother's skirt"(22). This memory from Liebenstein’s past helps us see how the uncomfortable feeling he gets is something that has followed him throughout his life. Galchen writes: “It was very bad, the acoustics inside of me. I wanted, suddenly, to leave. I ordered a coffee to go-“(33). The awkwardness that Liebnestein frequently feels may be something that causes his problems later in the novel. These traits are things that also seem to make it hard for him to lie easily, as mentioned in the last blog.