I could immediately see why she was drawn to it; the novel was immediately charming.. I mean, 100 year old African American farmers named Jesus Fever who own mules named John Brown and name their daughters things like Missouri and call her "Zoo" for short -twins named Idabel and Florabel .. all of those kind of things are super great...
but it wasn't until i reached page 141 that i was convinced that it was one of the best books i had ever, ever read... I didn't understand the importance of the character of Randolph at first. All the other characters seems to affect Joel (the protagonist) in much more interesting ways.. and "Randolph" what kind of a name is that next to "Jesus Fever"? (I mean honestly..)
But then Randolf started saying things like this:
"Let me begin by telling you that I was in love. An ordinary statement, to be sure, but not an ordinary fact, for so few of us learn that love is tenderness and tenderness is not, as a fair proportion suspect, pity; and still fewer know that happiness in love is not the absolute focusing of all emotion in another: one has always to love a good many things which the beloved must come only to symbolize; the true beloveds of this world are in their lover's eyes lilac opening, ship lights, school bells, a landscape, remembered conversations, friends, a child's Sunday, lost voices, one's favorite suit, autumn and all seasons, memory, yes, it being the earth and water of existence, memory. A nostalgic list, but then, of course, where could one find a more nostalgic subject?..."
I don't think that i blinked from page 141 to page 154... I am almost finished with it, but i have slowed down because i know i will be sad to finish.. i think everyone should read this book. As my sister put it, its a really amazing coming of age story- just as import and, and beautiful Catcher in the Rye or any of the great coming of age stories. This one holds my particular attention because of Capote's clear emphasis on the importance of getting to know ourselves.. and the great challenge thereof.
"Let me begin by telling you that I was in love. An ordinary statement, to be sure, but not an ordinary fact, for so few of us learn that love is tenderness and tenderness is not, as a fair proportion suspect, pity; and still fewer know that happiness in love is not the absolute focusing of all emotion in another: one has always to love a good many things which the beloved must come only to symbolize; the true beloveds of this world are in their lover's eyes lilac opening, ship lights, school bells, a landscape, remembered conversations, friends, a child's Sunday, lost voices, one's favorite suit, autumn and all seasons, memory, yes, it being the earth and water of existence, memory. A nostalgic list, but then, of course, where could one find a more nostalgic subject?..."
I don't think that i blinked from page 141 to page 154... I am almost finished with it, but i have slowed down because i know i will be sad to finish.. i think everyone should read this book. As my sister put it, its a really amazing coming of age story- just as import and, and beautiful Catcher in the Rye or any of the great coming of age stories. This one holds my particular attention because of Capote's clear emphasis on the importance of getting to know ourselves.. and the great challenge thereof.
The inside cover of the book quotes a very interesting scripture.. Jeremiah 17:9,
"The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked: who can know it?"
Indeed, who can??
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