I will write of the person i lost, before long. I want to honor him, but now is not the time
for me to do that. Each day goes on,
however. Life does not stop. That is a blessing and a curse, i think.
“Don't be led
away by those howls about realism. Remember-pine woods are just as real as
pigsties and a darn sight pleasanter to be in.”
I thought this quote was from a book called Stars in My Crown, but i remembered it poorly. In that book, the protagonist is
talking with his grandfather about wanting to write, and the same sentiments
are expressed, but not as succinctly.
These thoughts came to me this week because i was trying
to read the book Wicked. I was at
a “Friends of the Library” book sale.
This book was available for about 25 cents, and so i picked it up. I’ve heard about the play/musical and how
many people love that. Generally a book
is superior to a movie, so i thought that would be the case, but i was wrong. After a few chapters in the book, i skipped
to the end. Then i Googled the whole
thing, and then did a play vs. book search.
In most cases, people who loved the play hated the book. It is a rare occasion where i begin a book and
choose not to finish it. This book will
be one of those occasions.
The reason is this:
I found the book dark, dreary, and grey.
I can see no good thing come to me in reading it, and i’m struggling
with grey enough as it is. Thus my quote earlier – right now i’d much
rather focus on pine woods than on pigsties.
By the way, i read the Emily series when i was in my early 20s. I'd read Anne of Green Gables previously, and loved it. The Emily series was a much, um, darker read. I was much distressed by it. However, it was a much closer biographical book for L.M. Montgomery than the Anne series. For all her incredible ablilty to write winning stories, Montgomery's life was not a happy one.
I am sad that her life was one of such sorrow. I pray she finds Heaven to be a place of joy and balm for her.
5 comments:
Huge Montgomery fan here. : ) I read all her stuff by the time I was a young teenager, & yes, the Emily books were definitely darker. Did you know she had a stillborn baby? -- of course, Anne of Green Gables also had a baby who died at or shortly after birth in "Anne's House of Dreams." I had totally forgotten about that until someone pointed it out in a blog. I guess those things dont' register in the same way when you're a kid.
The pigsties Are all around us aren't they??
i seem to have gotten bogged down in one of them lately...
Thanks for the "pic-me-up".
i appreciate your insight.
*k
I've never read the Emily books, but might hunt them out.
I can understand you not wanting to finish a book that was too dark and dreary. There are times when I just can't face another book full of doom and gloom, and want something simple and uplifting. I'm hoping the sun and the woods are uplifting you, after what sounds like a very difficult time.
I, too, started Wicked and never finished it. I thought that what I read was terrible.
I'm currently reading The Pillars of the Earth by Ken Follett and I am thoroughly enjoying it!
Hi Kathryn,
Thinking of you and have been wondering how you are doing with/ adjusting to your loss. Praying for you. . .
Love,
Jessica
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