Friday, August 12, 2005

Yesterday

I read a book sort of by mistake, Turning for Home by Sarah Challis. It's good in its way, but it's not my kind (I think the name came up off an Amazon UK recommendation based on the fact that I'd ordered books by Victoria Clayton, whose novels I adore; I got it through my beloved BorrowDirect, but it wasn't what I was expecting). The thing that really gave me a pang is that while the book is itself about a bond between a twenty-something drifter and an old lady who she comes to work for as a carer, which resonates with me greatly, it is SO much a book that my actual grandmother would have loved. It is just her kind of book. It pains me that I don't know whether she read these books or not, though I can't help but feel she must have. I have had this several times recently, as you do for someone you really love who's died: I don't care about my birthday, but she always sent me a birthday card, and it was very kind that my mother stepped in and made sure to send me one to arrive on the day because I was so much thinking about my grandmother and missing her. And I recently went to a quasi-bachelorette party that she would love to have heard about, the hostess was a former southern belle in her 80s who knew Zelda Fitzgerald (who came to afternoon tea when she was on furlough from the asylum or whatever) and Harper Lee and generally the evening would have provided much grist to my grandmother's mill (I was dying to send her a description of the dinner entree, Chicken Hong Kong, which is indescribable but may have included Campbell's cream of mushroom soup and canned water-chestnuts; we washed it down with vast amounts of Veuve Cliquot).

1 comment:

  1. Of COURSE I remember you (and do you remember that awkward time when we were sitting at adjacent tables at Tomo and it was too complicated to explain to your parents that I was your teacher?)! You must e-mail me and we will find a time to talk soon--I'd love to hear more of what you're up to. jmd204 at columbia dot edu. If you can come uptown later in t he month we'll get coffee and chat. I was very serious about acting during college, worked with a lot of people who are now professional, but realized at some point that what I really loved was the language and that a professional career was NOT unfortunately going to be all having parts like Doll Common in THE ALCHEMIST or Titania in MIDSUMMER NIGHT'S DREAM etc. (I don't think I was good enough, either, but it really was a temperament question as well.) I guess I'm not that surprised to hear you're thinking about similar stuff.

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