Alan Lightman, continued

   What a surprise to find this new book called "In Praise of Wasting Time" by Alan Lightman.  What does he know about 'wasting time' and how did he find time to write this?
   Here is his message:
"An enormous transformation has occurred in the world from the 1950's and '60's of my youth to today.  A transformation so vast that it has altered all that we do and say and think, yet often in ways so subtle and ubiquitous that we are hardly aware of them.  Among other things, the world today is faster, more scheduled, more fragmented, less patient, louder, more wired, more public.  For want of a better phrase, I will call this world 'the wired world'."

   For sure, there are many advantages of technology.  It has improved medicine and communication vastly. 
   But Lightman adds:"It has come at a cost.  And it is time that we recognize what we have lost".
  I was very interested in Lightman's perspective on the mixed blessing of this 'wired world'.  I have always recognized a change in the world with each new invention and knew that we were losing something important in very little parcels.  I often yearn for the calmer, quieter past.

   This book was written in 2018 and talks about the rate of anxiety and depression in teenagers.  Quote:"Some experts say that the main driver is the massive and pervasive presence of the digital grid, with little opportunity or desire to disconnect". 
   Teenagers report feeling 'lonely', when what they are really missing is 'themselves'.  They have never been able to sit quietly and discover who they really are.
  Lightman also talks about the damage to creative thinking and the loss of 'replenishment' of the mind.

  I really relate to this book because I fight the access to technology all around me.  I know there are many advantages but I am not willing to give over my 'privacy'.  It sounds bizarre, but I don't want to be available 24/7.  I want to be alone with myself and my thoughts.

I strongly believe Lightman when he says, 

"Technology is a blessing and a curse".

  And so, I was surprised that Alan Lightman himself, who knows the value of the separate human spirit, says: "Against my will, knowing all the dangers, I have been sucked into the maelstrom.  I have heard the song of the Sirens and succumbed.  I should have tied myself to the mast".

  "Little by little, our world has been transformed.  Little by little, we have lost the silences, the needed time for contemplation, the open spaces in our minds, the privacies we once had.  We have lost the knowledge of who we are and what is important to us.  All of it happening so gradually and compellingly that we haven't noticed".

Alan Lightman

   Alan Lightman is a fascinating man.  He is a physicist and an author.  I watched his TED talk about the similarities and differences in science and the arts.  He lives in both worlds.  He has a PHD in theoretical physics and has received five honorary degrees.  But he has also written many books - from novels to books on astronomy.
  I first read his novel "Diagnosis" in 2002 and I was captivated by it.  It seemed to reflect the changes that were happening in the new millenium. It is even more relevant today.


Diagnosis:  Overwhelmed by an environment of cell phones and complex technology, Bill Chalmers deteriorates emotionally and then physically.  He is found on the train in a fetal position, with few clothes, but clutching his cell phone.  He does not know his name or destination.
  The search for a 'diagnosis' is extensive, but futile.  His life is in a downward spiral.  His wife has escaped to an e-mail affair and alcohol.  His son is totally involved in the internet world.

  The whole aspect of 'diagnosis' intrigued me.  Was this novel a 'diagnosis' of our society?  Rush, rush, rush- technology galore!
   
   A second story line added to the intrigue.  Bill's son Alex, reads to Bill the story of the death of Socrates.  Remember Socrates?  "The unexamined life"?  Is that the clue to the 'diagnosis'?


Probably the most thought-provoking book that I have read. 
I read it in two days. It is not so much a story -as a mirror of life.  What has been lost in the search to succeed?

    I re-read the book 2 years later.  Recently I renewed my interest in Alan Lightman when I found another book that has just been published.  Check my next blog.

"Jacob of Abbington Pickets" by H.C. Hewitt

H.C. Hewitt

   My daughter was visiting a friend who lives on a farm in Alberta.  In a town nearby there was a quilt shop that attracted my daughter.  H.C.Hewitt is the owner and she is also a writer.  She was selling her book, so my daughter bought it for me.
   I do enjoy reading a book when there is a connection with the author, no matter how slight that connection is.  Whenever I come across an author selling books, I want to support that author. But, of course, I realize that this is a beginning author and the writing may not be great. 

   The protagonist in this novel is a young man, Jacob, who grew up on a farm on the prairies in the late 1800's.
  The novel begins when he is 8, with 4 older siblings.  The father is very strict and everyone is afraid of him.  Something awful happens right at the beginning of the novel that gives Jacob nightmares.
  But Jacob grows up to be a handsome, hard-working young man who falls in love with a young girl who has been promised to another man.  She returns to England to marry him.  He falls in love again and she is killed in a fire.  Whoops!  Have I given away the whole plot?

  This novel is advertised as a novel about virtue and redemption.  And that it is.  The author had always wanted to write a historical romance, and this is it.  At the end, there is redemption for everyone, including Jacob who had fallen into a pit of depression.
   I have read many raving reviews of the novel and I think it fills a need for simple writing, Canadian prairies, and wholesome values.

"The Stone Angel" by Margaret Laurence

  One of the most memorable protagonists in literature is Hagar Shipley.  She is interesting to read about but she is not someone that I would like to know and definitely I would not want to live with her.
  Hagar Shipley is 90 years old in this classic novel, living with her son and daughter-in-law, and she is the most miserable character you can imagine.  She cannot care for herself, but hates receiving help.  Her daughter-in-law is unable to continue caring for her, so she will need to move to a nursing home.  Of course, she will not consider that and leaves on an adventure into the woods.

    

   The epigraph at the front of this novel expresses Hagar's thinking. "Do not go gentle into that good night.  Rage, rage against the dying of the light".

(Dylan Thomas)

  Kirkus Review says:
"A fine portrait of a fierce old woman and the lives she dominated and diminished".
   In the novel, Hagar's mind wanders from present to past.  You learn about her childhood and her marriage.  It certainly is a fine portrait of a woman who was always controlling and miserable.  Very hard to like this protagonist!

There is a proliferation of covers for this novel.  I have shown a few.

Margaret laurence

   
   This novel was written when Margaret Laurence was 38.  I wonder why she was so interested in the topic of aging and death.  She lived to the age of 61, when she was diagnosed with terminal cancer and took her own life.  Perhaps she had the same spirit as Hagar Shipley.  She needed to be in control. 
  This novel is required reading in many schools.  I can't imagine that the subject matter is interesting to students, but the writing is amazing and it is a wonderful portrait of time and place.
  

"Indian Horse" by Richard Wagamese

   On Friday I had the privilege of leading a discussion of "Indian Horse" at the public library.  
     This may be the best book that I have ever read.  The descriptions of nature, Aboriginal life, and hockey, are stunning.   The emotional journey is beyond description.
   The juxtaposition of residential schools and hockey was a brilliant ploy.  These two themes came together in the main character, Saul Indian Horse, so beautifully! The residential school broke his spirit but hockey lifted him out of the horrors of the school and let him fly.  He could have had a career in hockey, but he could not survive the racism of the fans and the cruelty of other players.  So he turned away from the bright lights and settled in an aboriginal town playing hockey on the rink with other like-minded young aboriginal men.

  Way back in 2002 when I started this blog, I made videos.  Here is one where I am describing my reaction to"Indian Horse".  It had been nominated for Canada Reads.
  You can watch that here:  http://bettysvideobookblog.blogspot.com/2013/03/indian-horse-indian-horse-is-my-pick.html

  I wrote this blog when the author Richard Wagamese died:
http://bettysvideobookblog.blogspot.com/2017/03/richard-wagamese.html

And here is my emotional attachment to Richard Wagamese: http://bettysvideobookblog.blogspot.com/2013/09/richard-wagamese.html

Richard Wagamese

alternate book cover

I hope these links work for you.