He had the same attitude to his life as a sculptor to his statue or a novelist to his novel. One of novelist's inalienable rights is to be able to rework his novel. If he takes a dislike to the beginning, he can rewrite it or cross it out entirely. But Zdena's existence deprived Mirek of his prerogative as an author. Zdena insisted on remaining part of the opening pages of the novel. She refused to be crossed out. --From Milan Kundera's The Book of Laughter and Forgetting
I like this passage. It's about forgetting. And here is why it is funny: "She was ugly." Hence The Book of Laughter and Forgetting. It may not be funny at all if one has not read the book, or does not know Kundera as an author. He said that humor is "a trustworthy sign of recognition," I believe, between the reader and himself.
Saturday, April 3, 2010
Veronika Decides to Die
"I want to feel the rain on my face, to smile at any man I feel attracted to, to accept all the coffees men might buy for me. I want to kiss my mother, tell her I love her, weep in her lap, unashamed of showing my feelings, because they were always there even though I hid them.
I might go into a church and look at those images that never meant anything to me and see if they say something to me now... I want to give myself to one man, to the city, to life and, finally, to death." --From Paulo Coelho's Veronika Decides to Die
Veronika's speech after her failed suicide attempt. After being told she only has a few months to live. She was not poor, grew up in a good family, healthy, beautiful. Young. She is talking to Dr. Igor. I wonder what he is thinking about the patient he carefully saved. But I hoped Veronika told this to Eduard instead. Because later he tells her:
"I want to tell you that I love you. You don't have to believe me."
But I believe him, even though he has schizophrenia.
I might go into a church and look at those images that never meant anything to me and see if they say something to me now... I want to give myself to one man, to the city, to life and, finally, to death." --From Paulo Coelho's Veronika Decides to Die
Veronika's speech after her failed suicide attempt. After being told she only has a few months to live. She was not poor, grew up in a good family, healthy, beautiful. Young. She is talking to Dr. Igor. I wonder what he is thinking about the patient he carefully saved. But I hoped Veronika told this to Eduard instead. Because later he tells her:
"I want to tell you that I love you. You don't have to believe me."
But I believe him, even though he has schizophrenia.
Milk
Drinking milk before bedtime may induce sleep because milk contains large amounts of tryptophan, the amino acid from which serotonin is synthesized. --Biology, Neil Campbell and Jane Reece
Serotonin is the neurotransmitter of sleep-producing centers in the brain. I've always wished to fall asleep the moment my head hits the pillow. Perhaps I should stop wishing and drink milk before bed. And so should have Kafka.
Serotonin is the neurotransmitter of sleep-producing centers in the brain. I've always wished to fall asleep the moment my head hits the pillow. Perhaps I should stop wishing and drink milk before bed. And so should have Kafka.
Tuesday, March 30, 2010
Bible
I did it again. I flipped the page and there was nothing more than:
Where was she now, this Clara? What had become of her, this ardent, hopeful girl in her white dress, surrounded by her family, godparents, friends, that her Bible should end up in a Goodwill bin? Even if she no longer read it, or believed it, she wouldn't have thrown it away, would she? Had something happened? Ah, girl, where were you? --From Tobias Wolff's "Bible"
The last sentence is in past tense. I wouldn't have flipped the page if it were in present.
Where was she now, this Clara? What had become of her, this ardent, hopeful girl in her white dress, surrounded by her family, godparents, friends, that her Bible should end up in a Goodwill bin? Even if she no longer read it, or believed it, she wouldn't have thrown it away, would she? Had something happened? Ah, girl, where were you? --From Tobias Wolff's "Bible"
The last sentence is in past tense. I wouldn't have flipped the page if it were in present.