Allo mon chums....
So out here in the depths of Quebec, one can get a bit lonesome _ which is great. I have managed to make time for getting arty, lithograph printing and READING...
As I've had time (partly also due to a lack of internet access at home and a complete non-interest in my landlady's TV - why anyone would sit willingly and be advertised at is truly beyond me!?) to read read read, I thought I'd share some of my recent discoveries with you. I suppose you could call these my first book reviews. So here goes...
1) Papillion - Henri Charriere
At times I often found myself reading Papillion as if it were a fantasy. Getting lost in a world filled with sea, escape and survival, from turning the very first page, I was hooked.
Papillion, first published in 1969, is a memoir written by Henri-Charriere (nicknamed 'Papillion' as he had a butterfly tattooed at the base of his neck) - a convicted fugitive of French Giana. Innocent until death, this autobiographical novel follows Charriere's relentless endeavor for freedom. Fearless and just, we follow his struggle to escape the hard-labour penal colony, solitary confinement, torture and violence, with the help of the high-seas, leper colonies, indigenous Indians and nuns. His encounters with all walks of life gives birth to mindful wanderings, contemplating the nature of 'developed' society and true human values.
If you simply want a wonderful, inspirational story, with no pretense, read Papillion.I also recommend, if you be in Toronto, to check out the cozy Anarchist bookfair at which I bought it. The lovely chap from Guelph also gave me a copy of his zine 'One Way Ticket', which I also thoroughly recommend. Thank you smiley man!
2) Walden; or, Life in the Woods - Henry Thoreau.
I got this curious little book at an poster-filled, punk-blasting Anarchist bookshop in Montreal (2035 St.-Laurent), and I'm very glad I did. On the inside cover reads an old note from a lover:
" David, if you cannot find anywhere to live, there's always the woods. Happy Valentines, Katherine". For those of you who don't know Thoreau, he is a highly influential philosopher within naturism and the environmental movement. Born in 1817 in Massachusetts, as well as concentrating his energy on naturism, he also was a lifelong abolitionist, anarchist and political thinker.
Part autobiography, part philosophy, Walden is a collection of Thoreau's ruminative ponderings on the state of modern, 'civilised' society, whilst squatting in a hand-made log cabin at Walden Pond.The book is split into sections such as 'Where I lived and what I lived for' and 'Economy' - splitting up the otherwise deep consciousness of a man contemplating a simple life, prioritising need over greed.
This truly is a wonderful book and has certainly been a true companion to me recently - as I often find my mind in despair of the greedy, competitive society 'modern' life breeds. If you often find yourself wondering how to live in this life, pick up an old dusty copy of Walden, and let your mind be.
Here are some nice quotations:
"I had three pieces of limestone on my desk, but I was terrified to find that
they required to be dusted daily, when the furniture of my mind was all
undusted still, and threw them out the window in disgust." in Economy
I love the image of Thoreau sitting, thinking, staring at these pieces of stone, this realisation coming to him, and his sudden outburst of disgust and rage.
"I would rather sit on a pumpkin and have it all to myself,
than be crowded on a velvet cushion." in Economy
And remember, there's always the woods...
