A Book in May

I can't believe I haven't blogged in months. I am going to try and blog at least once each month whether I have much to say or not. So this one will be pretty short and simple. It is my analysis of a brief excerpt from the latest book I have read.

It is from Elizabeth George's newest book entitled Careless in Red, an Inspector Lynley murder mystery. The book is very well written and so densely packed both in plotting and characterizations that it takes time and intense concentration to "get" what is happening.

Here is one example of how she interweaves character,plot, philosophy, life meaning, together so perfectly that this short excerpt will almost surely speak to you, or to any reader.

The situation is that a young man is looking at his Father, an old man. The son, Ben, says:

"But the sight of his father had abruptly changed things for Ben. So old, he thought. So terribly old. Broken as well. He wondered how he had failed to understand till now that life had long ago defeated his father. He'd beaten his fists against it --his Father had--and refused to submit to its demands. These demands were for compromise and change: to take Life on Life's terms, which required the ability to switch courses when necessary, to modify behaviours, and to alter dreams so that they could meet the realities that they came up against. But he had never been able to do any of that, so he'd been crushed, and life had rolled over his shattered body."

If you think about this passage long enough, it will almost certainly resonate with you -- whoever you are, whatever your age, what your life is like now, what is may be in the future. It will probably stir up memories, dreams, losses, hopes, failures, sadness, joy.

And more than that: it may make you and me into more compassionate, caring, loving people as we deal with each other in intimate relationships and with a world that is desperately in need of love and understanding from us.

A good book makes you think, makes you feel, helps you to learn. Sometimes it can even change you in a significant way. Enjoy.