Time Travel

I read with sadness about the passing of Carlos Fuentes.  When I was in grad school, he gave a talk on campus in which he said something along the lines of, "When scientists invent a machine for time travel, they will have caught up with writers."  He further elaborated that literature need not follow a linear time line.  A story can sometimes be more effectively told with time looping back upon itself.  Even though I .still. haven't read any of his novels yet, his observation about time stuck with me through the years.

This week, I read Graham Swift's fantastic new novel, Wish You Were Here.  Nonlinear time is a hallmark of Swift's work.  Time runs every which way, much like water in the (below sea level) Fenland setting of his tour de force, Waterland.

I found the crazy turn of events at the end of Wish You Were Here confounding, until I realized that Swift had telegraphed it right there on page 57.

I major part of my enjoyment of unemployment stems from the fact that I now have time to read.  There have been a string of winners, too.  Wish You Were Here.  The Sense of an Ending.  The Hunger Games trilogy. 

What are you reading?  Leave a comment.  If you are also on Goodreads, friend me and share your recommendations.

The standing ovation model

I seldom stand up after a performance (except to leave). But our entire family gave a standing ovation to Follies tonight.

The pleasures of literature

Sometimes, it takes fiction to teach us truth.

There was a war going on, that was the story.  Though who would know, or want to know, down here at Sands End?  A war on terror, that was the general story.  Jack knew that terror was a thing you felt inside, so what could a war on terror be, in the end, but a war against yourself?

page 57 Wish You Were Here by Graham Swift.