Ellie, I am sorry you are struggling through this year. Wishing you easier times. I am so pleased when I see your weekly essay appear. It is always intelligent and well written, unlike many other emails I receive. The sentences in this book have so many commas!!! I lose track of what is being expressed. Thank you for making sense of what I cannot make sense of.
Thank you so much for your kind words Paula, and thank you for sticking with us, since last year I've been a big fan of your warmth and your wit. And I know you've been struggling with this book, so here's two things:
1) You might consider trying the "fresh, modern translation" by Kevan Houser that Sharon has been reading, maybe it would make the punctuation sound less weird?
2) But also, it's perfectly okay if a book doesn't jive with you, you don't have to put up a fight with it if it's not your cup of tea! I do really believe that literature should be a pleasure, be it because a book teaches you something or because it's just a good time. I guess in general I really admire people who are not afraid to quit because I'm not like that at all, ahaha.
I finished, Ellie, because I had to leave the book behind in New Mexico
and move to California after my fifty year marriage unexpectedly fell to pieces. But beneath a plethora of commas, I did find a message that resonated with all my Buddhists studies. If a person dissolves all boundaries, they either go mad or become a Buddha. Perhaps that is why we need to be guided by masters of the journey. However, it is hard to find true masters on the path. Hidden Mountain Zen Center collapsed because the abbot was sleeping with his female students instead of his wife. There seems to be a lietmotif here. Sex drive gets in the way. Actually, I don’t think we ever”get there.” We are eternally becoming. Beware of anyone who thinks they have arrived. Their libido just might prove them wrong!
I'm reading Cultish by Amanda Montell and the section about male spiritual leaders is emblematic to say the least. The best of luck on your journey, Paula.
Paula, I'm sorry about your divorce, I hope it opens up new perspectives and discoveries in life. I'm sure that ultimately everything will be for the better.
I’m so sorry to hear that you’re having a rough time. If it helps at all, please know that your thoughtfulness, intelligence and generosity of spirit are appreciated by this random stranger on the internet. I hope things turn around for you soon.
Thank you Sharon! But I don't consider you a stranger at all, you've always been so kind reaching out and offering your support, I really appreciate it. I'm sorry my entries have been subpar lately, thankfully things are starting to stabilize in my life, I'm really looking forward to pour myself into our next read in May!
It's one thing to describe a fragmented character, but it's quite another to carry forward a unified story, dialogue, and plot despite the whole thing being described by that very character. The dialogue with Quantorzo and Dida in Book the Fifth is a real tour de force.
The more alienated Moscardo grows from his body, the more dangerous he becomes. His amusement at how his words and gestures affect the two who think they know him could take any turn at all. I read a story in the Guardian just this week about a boy who stabbed his sister to death after she agreed to let him practice a headlock on her. They had done this sort of practice before, but this time, he killed because he had always hated her and found her annoying. The main character in Camus's The Stranger kills a man because the sun glinted in his eye. I can think of several other instances where killers in fiction and in life have expressed a sense of separation from and indifference to their own actions and their effects on others. So, I have to say, I started to get real nervous when he took Bibi out for a walk. I expected him to end up strangling the dog. And I don't think we're out of the woods yet. I do expect him to go too far at some point in the novel.
I'm making my way through the novel today and plan to finish it, and my heart aches reading about your difficult times, Ellie. I hope everything works out for the better. I wish you strength and support. I deeply understand how challenging it can be to stay focused during such times, and I believe that reading and writing these magnificent articles offers you at least some respite. For me, literature and art provide sanctuary from life's burdens.
In this part, I noticed our protagonist appears more composed, no longer fragmenting as he did before. He seems to be discovering his authentic voice, and others are beginning to see him as he wishes to be seen (or close to how he perceives himself). His understanding of his own desires reminds me of the saying that healing—in any form—requires hitting rock bottom first. He deconstructed himself completely, and now his only path forward is to reconstruct himself and his world anew. Though, of course, kicking the dog was an unnecessary step in this process.
Ellie, I am sorry you are struggling through this year. Wishing you easier times. I am so pleased when I see your weekly essay appear. It is always intelligent and well written, unlike many other emails I receive. The sentences in this book have so many commas!!! I lose track of what is being expressed. Thank you for making sense of what I cannot make sense of.
Thank you so much for your kind words Paula, and thank you for sticking with us, since last year I've been a big fan of your warmth and your wit. And I know you've been struggling with this book, so here's two things:
1) You might consider trying the "fresh, modern translation" by Kevan Houser that Sharon has been reading, maybe it would make the punctuation sound less weird?
2) But also, it's perfectly okay if a book doesn't jive with you, you don't have to put up a fight with it if it's not your cup of tea! I do really believe that literature should be a pleasure, be it because a book teaches you something or because it's just a good time. I guess in general I really admire people who are not afraid to quit because I'm not like that at all, ahaha.
I finished, Ellie, because I had to leave the book behind in New Mexico
and move to California after my fifty year marriage unexpectedly fell to pieces. But beneath a plethora of commas, I did find a message that resonated with all my Buddhists studies. If a person dissolves all boundaries, they either go mad or become a Buddha. Perhaps that is why we need to be guided by masters of the journey. However, it is hard to find true masters on the path. Hidden Mountain Zen Center collapsed because the abbot was sleeping with his female students instead of his wife. There seems to be a lietmotif here. Sex drive gets in the way. Actually, I don’t think we ever”get there.” We are eternally becoming. Beware of anyone who thinks they have arrived. Their libido just might prove them wrong!
I'm reading Cultish by Amanda Montell and the section about male spiritual leaders is emblematic to say the least. The best of luck on your journey, Paula.
Paula, I'm sorry about your divorce, I hope it opens up new perspectives and discoveries in life. I'm sure that ultimately everything will be for the better.
I’m so sorry to hear that you’re having a rough time. If it helps at all, please know that your thoughtfulness, intelligence and generosity of spirit are appreciated by this random stranger on the internet. I hope things turn around for you soon.
Thank you Sharon! But I don't consider you a stranger at all, you've always been so kind reaching out and offering your support, I really appreciate it. I'm sorry my entries have been subpar lately, thankfully things are starting to stabilize in my life, I'm really looking forward to pour myself into our next read in May!
Your writing is never subpar! No way! ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
It's one thing to describe a fragmented character, but it's quite another to carry forward a unified story, dialogue, and plot despite the whole thing being described by that very character. The dialogue with Quantorzo and Dida in Book the Fifth is a real tour de force.
The more alienated Moscardo grows from his body, the more dangerous he becomes. His amusement at how his words and gestures affect the two who think they know him could take any turn at all. I read a story in the Guardian just this week about a boy who stabbed his sister to death after she agreed to let him practice a headlock on her. They had done this sort of practice before, but this time, he killed because he had always hated her and found her annoying. The main character in Camus's The Stranger kills a man because the sun glinted in his eye. I can think of several other instances where killers in fiction and in life have expressed a sense of separation from and indifference to their own actions and their effects on others. So, I have to say, I started to get real nervous when he took Bibi out for a walk. I expected him to end up strangling the dog. And I don't think we're out of the woods yet. I do expect him to go too far at some point in the novel.
I'm making my way through the novel today and plan to finish it, and my heart aches reading about your difficult times, Ellie. I hope everything works out for the better. I wish you strength and support. I deeply understand how challenging it can be to stay focused during such times, and I believe that reading and writing these magnificent articles offers you at least some respite. For me, literature and art provide sanctuary from life's burdens.
In this part, I noticed our protagonist appears more composed, no longer fragmenting as he did before. He seems to be discovering his authentic voice, and others are beginning to see him as he wishes to be seen (or close to how he perceives himself). His understanding of his own desires reminds me of the saying that healing—in any form—requires hitting rock bottom first. He deconstructed himself completely, and now his only path forward is to reconstruct himself and his world anew. Though, of course, kicking the dog was an unnecessary step in this process.