This is what I'm doing right now. Yes. My life rocks.
We've been listening to Victor Hugo's Les Miserables from LibriVox.org. Unfortunately, I didn't realize that only the first two books were recorded and currently available online. Three more to go! And I'm completely hooked. In my dream world, I would write like Victor Hugo, Marilynne Robinson, and Kimberly Johnson blended. Who can I read that writes mostly about family? (I'm up for suggestions) I don't have much to argue in my writing--mostly I celebrate.
Les Miserables is gorgeous. I love it. Oh so much. Since I was about ten I've been meaning to read it--one of those life goal things I hoped to get to before 30, so here we are. My family went to the play and listened to the music a lot while growing up; yes, I pretended to be Cosette, then I pretended to be Eponine (who may have been less beautiful, but was more dramatic and had better songs). And I love Jean Valjean and Marius. I love Hugo's thought process through the novel: not linear, not circular, something else--is this cultural or otherwise? How do you choose a translation? (I currently have three on my desk plus the one I've been listening to. Isabel Florence Hapgood did a nice job. How will she compare to Charles Wilbur?) The book examines a life in context of humanity--so multiple lives intertwining. Much of it feels essayistic; awesome. The poetic style engages, the commentary interests, and the story carries me through.
The first time I realized the book existed was when my uncle stayed at our house in his early twenties reading it. I remember him sitting next to our piano in a blue wingbacked chair completely absorbed. Peaceful. And I thought, "That's how I want to spend my life," with words, with books, with my family around. This is the uncle that I supposedly look like and who encouraged me to write and who I unabashedly adored in childhood. I adore them all now, but amazing how somone's belief in you can inspire such affection and veneration.
A note on LibriVox.org. Wow. Have I written about how awesome it is? Public domain books on the internet because of willing volunteers. Support it. Love it. Listen.
Les Miserables is gorgeous. I love it. Oh so much. Since I was about ten I've been meaning to read it--one of those life goal things I hoped to get to before 30, so here we are. My family went to the play and listened to the music a lot while growing up; yes, I pretended to be Cosette, then I pretended to be Eponine (who may have been less beautiful, but was more dramatic and had better songs). And I love Jean Valjean and Marius. I love Hugo's thought process through the novel: not linear, not circular, something else--is this cultural or otherwise? How do you choose a translation? (I currently have three on my desk plus the one I've been listening to. Isabel Florence Hapgood did a nice job. How will she compare to Charles Wilbur?) The book examines a life in context of humanity--so multiple lives intertwining. Much of it feels essayistic; awesome. The poetic style engages, the commentary interests, and the story carries me through.
The first time I realized the book existed was when my uncle stayed at our house in his early twenties reading it. I remember him sitting next to our piano in a blue wingbacked chair completely absorbed. Peaceful. And I thought, "That's how I want to spend my life," with words, with books, with my family around. This is the uncle that I supposedly look like and who encouraged me to write and who I unabashedly adored in childhood. I adore them all now, but amazing how somone's belief in you can inspire such affection and veneration.
A note on LibriVox.org. Wow. Have I written about how awesome it is? Public domain books on the internet because of willing volunteers. Support it. Love it. Listen.
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