The ever-intriguing experience for me of reading this memoir serialized in short installments is in attempting to grasp a sense of the whole, which I still don't begin to approach. I can't glance ahead to see what the landscape looks like, So far, it isn't narratively propelled, though we get narrative. I've commented before about its associative flow. I feel at sea in its ebb and flow, the wash of Mary's feelings and her associative memories and reference points, as she, seemingly at sea herself in trying to achieve her own understanding, invites us to follow along. There's no meta narrative from a place of understanding and resolution. That's the way it seems so far. Maybe it changes. I don't know. It's a provocatively uncertain way to read. I'm liking it! I think others should come along.
Perfectly described A. Jay! It's my second time reading her memoir and I'm coming away with new thoughts and feelings about it, perhaps exactly because of how you described it, of nw knowing its landscape. It gives me a chance in this second reading to enjoy new views.
i havenot read 1-11, so i really don't know where we are or how we got here. 12 was a taste, a good taste. i will get to 1-11, but 13 doesn't seem to move a story much. we met big hands in 12, along with his limp. I think "quite a dish" somehow dates the piece.
Truth revealing and distorting itself from so many angles in this one. You’re a genius.
It's always hard to say 'the truth.' Maybe that's what the Japanese have already figured out. They've been thinking and feeling much longer than us.
Such a great comment. Again, my heartfelt thanks.
Hey Mary,
You have managed to soften the sharp in your beautiful writing of memoir. I see resilience and strength throughout.
Let's hope ... . Thank you, Isabelle.
The ever-intriguing experience for me of reading this memoir serialized in short installments is in attempting to grasp a sense of the whole, which I still don't begin to approach. I can't glance ahead to see what the landscape looks like, So far, it isn't narratively propelled, though we get narrative. I've commented before about its associative flow. I feel at sea in its ebb and flow, the wash of Mary's feelings and her associative memories and reference points, as she, seemingly at sea herself in trying to achieve her own understanding, invites us to follow along. There's no meta narrative from a place of understanding and resolution. That's the way it seems so far. Maybe it changes. I don't know. It's a provocatively uncertain way to read. I'm liking it! I think others should come along.
Perfectly described A. Jay! It's my second time reading her memoir and I'm coming away with new thoughts and feelings about it, perhaps exactly because of how you described it, of nw knowing its landscape. It gives me a chance in this second reading to enjoy new views.
Oh, Ollie, you are such a grand reader and commenter. It's as if we've really come to know each other through these exchanges. A gift in my life.
I feel the same Mary! It's been a huge gift for me to connect with you and your writing.
Ah, form and meaning -- or aporia? I guess we'll see ...
Those preciously sparkling edges can be SHARP, right? Another beautiful chapter, Mary. Thank you. ♥️
What a terrific comment. The word “sharp” gives me such a sense of writing well this difficult personal tale. Thank you, Rebecca.
i havenot read 1-11, so i really don't know where we are or how we got here. 12 was a taste, a good taste. i will get to 1-11, but 13 doesn't seem to move a story much. we met big hands in 12, along with his limp. I think "quite a dish" somehow dates the piece.
with love, Jeffrey
If someone said, "Quite a dish" to me, I would hear a "come on" -- I guess that "dates" me. double entendre intended.
“So, you need to forget?”
“How would you know what I need?”
How strangers talk to each other. When fragments of lives come together in public and private places.
Yes. Thank you, Russell, for reading and commenting, Means much. ~ Mary