Hence the title, which has nothing to do with that actual content.
I finished another John Irving book last night. He is one of my favoritest authors. You know, "The World According to Garp", "Cider House Rules", "A Prayer For Ownen Meany", "Hotel New Hampshire", "Son of a Circus", "Until I Find You" (a terrific story about Jack Burns) and "Widow for a Year", "Setting Free the Bears"....some of his better known works. I find his stories to be amazing for their full-bodied bizarreness and his adept play with personalities vs. incredible situations. Frequently he makes his female characters very strong and unusual. I wouldn't readily recommend them to anyone for the most part. Paul and I watched Hotel New Hampshire together, and Paul's overwhelming response was, "it's so weird!".
The work to which I refer in this post is titled "The Water-Method Man", and was written by a young John Irving - 29 years old. Toward the end of the story, the main character is beginning to mature. This passage struck me as incredibly thought provoking. I don't know if it will hit you the way it did me, but I loved it:"He wished he understood what made him feel so restless. Then it occurred to him that he was actually at peace with himself for the first time in his life. He realized how much he'd been anticipating peace someday, but the feeling was not what he'd expected. He used to think that peace was a state he would achieve, but the peace he was feeling was like a force he'd submitted to. God, why should peace depress me? he thought. But he wasn't depressed, exactly. Nothing was exact."
-from "The Water-Method Man" by John Irving
So, just wanted to share this.
Peace, my dears.
6 comments:
i still have your mary todd lincoln book.
Oh my god, that brought tears. I can sooooo relate.........
I WILL Finish Until I Find you. It's good...just so full of stuff.
Love you..
x
I totally "get" that-love it. I have had similar experiences with a variety of feelings that for most of my life I didn't allow myself to feel. For the most part the old me thought feeling anything was self indulgent. So, numb it was...and days and years went by...sad. Thanks for sharing Elf. I was so happy you posted again. I check everyday. (Speaking of Sad, HUH?) I am in a rut on my blog. I think I have created too heavy a space that no longer feels fun to me. Hm, maybe I need a new blog?
~Paige
V - that's fine by me. pass it on...
Foo - you came strongly to mind when i read this.
X - i didn't know when i read it that it was about jack burns. i'm glad you're still reading it. it is a 'full' story though.
PT - i too check the blogs every day. :) mostly these days it's a quick check. don't have much time to focus on blogging lately, but today i set aside a little time to do that. it has become a sort of little hobby. blogging should do for us what we want it to do - sharing thought, observations, dillemas, support, opinions, all of the above, whatever. it's a personal thing. i don't think your blog is 'heavy'. i just think it is you. you are complex and thoughtful.
I'm almost done with Gone With the Wind, I think this will be my next pick. Thanks for sharing.
No surprise today? I was hoping for another post-hint hint-I'll check later. No pressure
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