Comments on morality
Here is an excerpt from one of Joan Didion’s essays, from the book Slouching Towards Bethlehem.
There is some sinister hysteria in the air out here tonight, some hint of the monstrous perversion to which any human idea can come. “I followed my own conscience.” “I did what I thought was right.” How many madmen have said it and meant it? How many murderers?
Hmm.
This post is more just a reminder to me to read this again…and to find some of her essays next time I’m browsing in a secondhand bookstore.
My top three
Or, one of my top 3 lists…
Are they still my favourite books, or have I not updated the list in awhile? Hmm…
Here goes:
LOTR
What can I say? Hold up your hand if you've read them more than once. More than twice? Keep your hand up. More than 10 times?
On the top 3 list because I've re-read these books every year since I was first introduced to them as a pre-teen. I don't remember reading them for the first time though…
For their re-readability, and film adaptability, they are true classics.
The Bone People by Keri Hulme
One of only a few books to move me to tears….complicated tears too, not just a sad 'boo-hoo'. How does one classify this book? I've seen it called a mystery — which is odd. It's a compelling story of 3 damaged, but likeable, people living in New Zealand. When I find this book in a secondhand store, I buy it, and give it away. I once gave it to a friend for Christmas, and she was totally pissed off at me the next day, since she stayed up all night reading it instead of sleeping.
Read it, don't read about it. Any description could not do justice to the story, the characters, or the lush writing.
The Power of One by Bryce Courtney
The movie captured the tone, but not the wonderful depth of the story. This is another book that moved me to tears — and again, far more complex tears than just 'oh poor kid'. A great story about a little boy growing up in South Africa as apartheid takes hold. A moving story about a boy who learns to box. A fascinating story about….
Ack. Again. Just read it. But once you are utterly enthralled with Peekay and his life, do not read the sequel, Tandia. It's good, but disappointing in many ways…but mostly because it does not have the wondrous hope of the first.
