 |
2005-12-13 17:17
From: loki
(Philadelphia)
a review of The Invention of Solitude
What do you do when you read a book and it makes you want to write, write real badly? You write.
Re-reading The Invention of Solitude, it strikes me so much harder this time around. Just as Heraclitus said that, you cannot step into the same river twice - you cannot read the same book twice. Books have a time, place and memories - accessing them produces a different combination each time, again and again.
The Invention of Solitude is the memoir Paul Auster wrote after his father passed away. Incredible urges of desperation, to keep the presence of his father alive, he writes a thorougly touching account of how he saw his father and his relationship with him. He writes how his dad, a first generation immigrant in the US, survives - how this affects his outlook on life, first and foremost a survivor. For example, the function of money not as pleasure, but as protection. The strong urge to protect himself, his family but also a level of being devoid of aesthetics, because all objects are functional and functional only - and the only function is function itself; never pleasure, never beauty. The horrible relationship with his mum and how they despite their differences, they stay together for the children. How her mum gave up a long time ago, when she relinguished the control over home, private space governed by the woman, all autonomy gone. How Paul Auster himself went on to become a Columbia graduate, his passion for the written word, poetry, travels to Paris by himself, made possible by himself. Is that instant karma? A dad, bent on functionality decided by monetary value, giving birth to a son, bent on infusing life with beauty -is a bigger gap of understanding possible? Beauty rarely measures itself in money, and if it does, very poorly. Money is not the only currency in life; think respect, think vita active - the destruction of invisibility and the creation of a presence, shared memories through the act of living, act-ing. There is instant eternal life out there for poets, writers.
The way his dad is depicted by Auster, reminds me of my own dad and reminds me of myself. I never realized how much me and my dad are alike; distinguishing features always decided by those that sharply mark us as different, not by what we commonly share. You are what makes you different from the other.
A little game for practice, next time you face an Other - someone you cannot stand, someone who makes you angry, or even someone you could care less about. Picture yourself what you share in common with him/her. A talk to Selmin the other day, how fear is honest - when caught in a plane about to crash - everybody is equally affected, regardless of social class, race, gender, you name it. First class seats are no better than economy seats when crashing. Suddenly, everybody realizes not what makes them different (again, social class, race, gender etc.) but the commonality they share: the realization of the brittleness of their human lives. Everybody is human, and soon about to die.
Another mental exercise: next time you see a practice or belief that is bad; place yourself into the shoes of the other and try to find arguments for it. Internet censorship in China. Smoking marijuana. Looking at child pornography. Homophobia. The West versus the Islam. Suicide bombers. Looting African-Americans in New Orleans. Kanye West being censored on US television.
Reading Auster gave me a peace of mind again. A state I was looking for, a few days right before school is about to start again. That, the urge to write, and about a million ideas.
This review is helpful to 4 person.
2005-12-21 13:50: JmeDoom
I love when I read and am inspired to write. The Polish poet, Wislawa Szymborska has that particular effect on me. I find it more difficult to write when I have perfect peace of mind, though. I need toil, tribulation, friction and great deal of angst.
|
|
|
| |
By Paul Auster
Penguin (Non-Classics)
ISBN: 0140106286
Release Date: 1988-05-05
Paperback
List Price: USD 14.00
 More descriptions and reviews
|