Tonight

Hello readers!

Do not worry about getting the next installment of my blog. I will post it tonight. I was able to read almost half of the book on my flights this last weekend, so I have a lot to write about.

Be sure to check back later on!

6. The Sea by John Banville – Pt. 1

The Sea by John Banville opened beautifully.

It isn’t often that I am pulled in from the very first sentence, but read this: “They departed, the gods, on the day of the strange tide. All morning under a milky sky the waters of the bay had swelled and swelled, rising to unheard-of heights, the small waves creeping over parched sand that for years had known no wetting save for rain and lapping the very bases of the dunes.

The rusted hulk of the freighter that had run aground at the far end of the bay longer ago than any of us could remember must have thought it was being granted a relaunch. I would not swim again, after that day. The seabirds mewled and swooped, unnerved, it seemed, by the spectacle of that vast bowl of water bulging like a blister, lead-blue and malignantly agleam. They looked unnaturally white that day, those birds. The waves were depositing a fringe of soiled yellow foam along the waterline. No sail marred the high horizon. I would not swim, no, not ever again.

Someone has just walked over my grave. Someone.”

This is the kind of writing I enjoy. Flowery yet still demonstrating an economy of words. The author proceeds to bring his story to light using the first person narrative.

This is a journal of sorts, although it seems as though the main character is no longer with us. The line about someone walking on his grave lends itself to the idea that perhaps this is the story of a recently deceased person recalling, or perhaps regretting, their life.

However, this could also be attributed to figurative writing. The answer will expose itself by the end of the book.

The first thing that threw me off was the fact that Banville decided not to use the usual convention of chapters and instead opts for dividing his tale into two parts. Within each of these parts he separates scenes by an extra space or two between lines.

Without these indicators I would most likely not stop reading and just continue on until I finish the book entirely in one sitting. Which, although I am not averse to the idea, would take a considerable amount of time that is not available to me.

After opening with a wonderful description of the shoreline, the main character proceeds to recall some early memories at a particular house near the beach and the family that occupied it.

I am unsure at this juncture what significance the family has in the story, but it seems tragic, as the language used to describe them seems tinged with sorrow. You almost become nostalgic along with the narrator, as if the life described is your own.

So far, I have only reached the fifteenth page of the book, but it is sublimely anticipatory.

I am extremely interested in seeing where this book leads. I am glad that I have the weekend off from school during which I may read and write.

Interval 2

Hello everyone.

I feel terrible that I haven’t gotten any new posts up yet. Today I will actually get the chance to read as I will be on break from school, so expect a new post anytime between 9pm and midnight.

Thank you for hanging in there with me!

Interval

Hello readers, if you are there and exist. I am sorry for the fact that I haven’t posted anything recently. I will get a chance to read tomorrow, so there will be more content tomorrow night.

A Story – Pt. 1

I have decided that in the in-between times I am going to write a story. A serial as it were. And, as I have yet to receive the next book on my list, I shall begin a story for you. I am titling it simply: “A Story.”

__________________
Once upon a time there was a man. He wasn’t a very old man, but he wasn’t a young man either. He loved to spend his days holed up in some little antique shop here or there touching the merchandise.

That is all he would do: Run his fingers along the surface of the object, detecting every bump, every dip, every slick surface and every rough patch. He could read an item with his hands the way many people would read a book. He could tell the story of the item simply by extending his hand and feeling the surface beneath his hand.

One day he was standing in a small shop in Glastonbury examining the slightest porcelain doll from Hungary when it struck him. He could converse with inanimate objects. This thought had never occurred to him before.

Something extra

I just found some interesting information that I felt I should share with you.

“Never Let Me Go,” book number one on the list, is being made into a film! It is starring Carey Mulligan and Keira Knightley.

As little as I appreciate Ms. Knightley’s “acting ability,” I am looking forward to this movie. As I read the book it seemed to me that it would make an excellent film and, apparently, I’m not the only one with that idea.

Beyond that, I just got notification that the next book on my list will be ready for retrieval in three days! Hooray!

4. Slow Man – J.M. Coetzee

Slow Man by J.M Coetzee was a well-written novel. I am still unsure as to whether or not I actually like it, as it left me hanging.

The main character, Paul Rayment, seemed to me to remain flat throughout the work, with a slight bit of growth near the end.

He is an elderly man who encounters a car while riding his bicycle down a road in Coniston Terrace, Australia. Don’t ask me where exactly that is as I do not know. This accident requires the doctors to amputate his leg. The rest of the book focuses on his transition into realizing how old he has become and how much help he must accept from others.

It discusses the idea of familial love and love that springs from the heart of a lonely person. It brings together immigrants from France and Croatia as well as Australian natives.

The character who intrigued me the most was Elizabeth Costello. An elderly lady who blusters into the story after about three chapters and remains in the forefront of the plot for most of the rest of the book. The reason she caught my attention was the fact that she remains such an enigma. Her character is never revealed by the author. However, farther down the list is another book by the same author about Ms. Costello.

Therefore, I look forward with great anticipation to book number twenty-one.

At the moment, however, I strive on, looking forward with anticipation and allowing regret only at the borders of my mind.

This regret is not bred of the fact that I actually wish I had not read the book, but the realization that I have much catching up to do in terms of reading good literature. I urge you to read through this list along with me and to realize the joy and contentment that finishing a good novel brings.

And, just for good measure, here is the information about the next book:

5. Adjunct: An Undigest – Peter Manson ~ This book is not in any library and from researching the author/title I have discovered that it is extremely difficult to find. Also, I cannot even find a formal ‘biography’ of this book. Therefore I am forced to skip this one.