2. What do you make of Alessandro? What kind of person is he? Do you think you feel differently about him since we first meet him as an old man nearer the end of his journey, rather than being introduced to him as a young man?
I like Alessandro. It is interestiing to see how his ideals change as the plot moves. (I'm a bit ahead at the moment so I don't want to say too much right now. Will probaly post more later.)
Am telling myself I'll post a comment every night so I don't fall behind this time, but think I must be out of my mind because we're moving this week. However, while I'm avoiding clearing out the closet, I'll go ahead and talk about Alessandro...
I like him but he's changed a lot through the book (I'm somewhere near the end now). I feel like he's a person who was raised with the expectation that he could achieve anything that he wanted, who looked for beauty all around him, and who was able to find peace and joy in the little things in life. He was very present to his own life - aware of how the city looked in the light, or of the flowers blooming, or of the beauty in a piece of music. I feel like that's a quality that is missing from my own life (the whole stop and smell the roses thing, I guess). I find that I'm so focused on what I'm doing and what I need to complete and where I'm going that I don't stop and look at the sunset, or see that the flowers that were buds last week are now blooms, or think about the fact that I could really take a night off and go and see a play or go to the symphony or the opera. Maybe now that we'll be in San Francisco I'll find the motivation to do that more often!
It's interesting as you go through the book to look at the tension (maybe contrast would be a better word) between the beauty that Alessandro finds in the world and the brutality and ugliness of war - and interesting to note how he can still find beauty in that, too.
I can't say more about this until we move onto the next section because I know what happens next! I really wanted to finish that last thought but I won't spoil it for those of you that haven't read it yet...
I adore Alessandro. He feels like a literary soulmate of mine. Sort of like Jane Eyre or Lucy Pevensi:, my thoughts run along the same courses as theirs do, of course in different times and certainly different situations, but I hear my heart beat in what is written of them. Only with Alessandro, I feel like my heart is matching his beat for beat.
Does that sound too cheesy? It does when I reread it, but I can't help but think it's true.
I feel overly blessed that I get to see something beautiful every day, like the way the light reflects off the building in downtown at a certain time of night makes them glow, and the way a smile from a stranger can light up my day, and yes, Meagan! Do stop and smell the roses. Or at least your lemon tree : ) That one little sniff can make erase a few worries and put a smile on my face, if only for a few seconds. And brush the tall, decorative grasses when you pass them on the street. They feel like silk as they pass through my fingers. ...
While I don't quite think that my heart beats in time with Alessandro's I do identify with him strongly.
Remembering to stop. Looking up at the city street when you walk home. Noticing the new flower that popped open this morning. Breathing in and feeling your breath rush out again. These are life's essential things.
Today is the start of my seventh year here and I know I am still here because I can live this 'slow life' everyday. Of course, I do get caught up in my own worries and truly unnecessary hustle. But then I look up to hillsides covered in green bamboo rustling in the wind, a huge orange globe sinking into the sea, or a wide swaying rice field and am reminded of my silliness and the need to stop, breathe and open my eyes wider to things larger than myself.
Why do I receive these smiles that God blesses me with? I am so thankful to be living a life like Alessandro's youth (pre-enlistment).
I worry about the hypothetical day when something will happen (like it did to Alessandro) to alter my contentment.
I was very thankful when Helprin stopped skipping back and forth between old and young and just stuck with one story line. It helped me begin to connect with the character more.
I like Alessandro. It is interestiing to see how his ideals change as the plot moves. (I'm a bit ahead at the moment so I don't want to say too much right now. Will probaly post more later.)
ReplyDeleteAm telling myself I'll post a comment every night so I don't fall behind this time, but think I must be out of my mind because we're moving this week. However, while I'm avoiding clearing out the closet, I'll go ahead and talk about Alessandro...
ReplyDeleteI like him but he's changed a lot through the book (I'm somewhere near the end now). I feel like he's a person who was raised with the expectation that he could achieve anything that he wanted, who looked for beauty all around him, and who was able to find peace and joy in the little things in life. He was very present to his own life - aware of how the city looked in the light, or of the flowers blooming, or of the beauty in a piece of music. I feel like that's a quality that is missing from my own life (the whole stop and smell the roses thing, I guess). I find that I'm so focused on what I'm doing and what I need to complete and where I'm going that I don't stop and look at the sunset, or see that the flowers that were buds last week are now blooms, or think about the fact that I could really take a night off and go and see a play or go to the symphony or the opera. Maybe now that we'll be in San Francisco I'll find the motivation to do that more often!
It's interesting as you go through the book to look at the tension (maybe contrast would be a better word) between the beauty that Alessandro finds in the world and the brutality and ugliness of war - and interesting to note how he can still find beauty in that, too.
I can't say more about this until we move onto the next section because I know what happens next! I really wanted to finish that last thought but I won't spoil it for those of you that haven't read it yet...
I adore Alessandro. He feels like a literary soulmate of mine. Sort of like Jane Eyre or Lucy Pevensi:, my thoughts run along the same courses as theirs do, of course in different times and certainly different situations, but I hear my heart beat in what is written of them. Only with Alessandro, I feel like my heart is matching his beat for beat.
ReplyDeleteDoes that sound too cheesy? It does when I reread it, but I can't help but think it's true.
I feel overly blessed that I get to see something beautiful every day, like the way the light reflects off the building in downtown at a certain time of night makes them glow, and the way a smile from a stranger can light up my day, and yes, Meagan! Do stop and smell the roses. Or at least your lemon tree : ) That one little sniff can make erase a few worries and put a smile on my face, if only for a few seconds. And brush the tall, decorative grasses when you pass them on the street. They feel like silk as they pass through my fingers. ...
Sigh. I feel dreamy.
Yes, I love Alessandro : )
While I don't quite think that my heart beats in time with Alessandro's I do identify with him strongly.
ReplyDeleteRemembering to stop. Looking up at the city street when you walk home. Noticing the new flower that popped open this morning. Breathing in and feeling your breath rush out again. These are life's essential things.
Today is the start of my seventh year here and I know I am still here because I can live this 'slow life' everyday. Of course, I do get caught up in my own worries and truly unnecessary hustle. But then I look up to hillsides covered in green bamboo rustling in the wind, a huge orange globe sinking into the sea, or a wide swaying rice field and am reminded of my silliness and the need to stop, breathe and open my eyes wider to things larger than myself.
Why do I receive these smiles that God blesses me with? I am so thankful to be living a life like Alessandro's youth (pre-enlistment).
I worry about the hypothetical day when something will happen (like it did to Alessandro) to alter my contentment.
I was very thankful when Helprin stopped skipping back and forth between old and young and just stuck with one story line. It helped me begin to connect with the character more.