I seem to be doing less and less at the moment. life is busy..whilst Jan is out doing her play and the children need lifts etc..it means a little change to the routine. This is not a bad thing.Last night it turned out that I had the chance to actually go out with Jan..we so seldom manage it these days. We drove to Litchfield and watched a performance of Samuel Becketts's 'Waiting For Godot'..Jan warned me I might find it boring..but nothing could have been further from the truth. The play has some very deep observations about life..a lot of it is metaphorical and talks about how we are basically an unfulfilled breed of animal..always looking for something that in our own concept is the 'answer'..but not actually knowing what the answer will look like or when it will arrive..It tells us that we occupy ourselves with the worries of tomorrow and fail to live in the present...at least that's what i think!My book arrived yesterday.'The History Of Love' by Nicole Krauss. I have noticed that some of my readers have cited this a s a book they have either read or intend to..then when looking at reviews of it on Amazon I decided this was for me.I sat in the Derby Dance Centre this morning whilst Annie went into her class. I read about the character of Leo Gursky..well written and conceived, I felt as if I'd met him before..I wondered about the mind ..I wondered what was in the minds of those sitting about me..did they share the same bright place..the warmth of another life living in their senses?..I opened the book at page 23 and saw little black specs deep in the fold of the spine..I was shocked at first as I'd had to comb my hair in search of head lice yesterday (an occupational hazard of having children)..but no..it was sand..it fell onto the table next to my empty coffee cup ...someone somewhere had read this book on the beach..did they feel as if they knew Leo..It was a wonderful thought, that each book is like a window of sorts..where you look into other peoples lives and worlds...where occasionally the people who seem so real in the pages might look out on the reader..or so I'd like to imagine. So sad and lonely is the man Leo..it was as if he was thanking me for releasing him again from the confines of the book.
Content in the knowledge that i have such a rich and moving story for Leo to play out for me..I will say goodbye till the next time.
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3 comments:
I hope you have the best time with Leo, despite his sadness. There's nothing like a full-rounded character(is this the best adjective?)!
Krauss on first reading, writes deceptively simply..but you suddenly realise that you care about the characters..they seem to be impressing themselves on your conscience even when your not reading..this is good!
How beautifully expressed Niall.
Will read it sometime--already have this PILE of books that i simply MUST read.
When we open a book, we dont just open a book--we open a mind--Dont you agree?
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