Wie geht's?
Alternating a 'serious' book with a 'light' book has been the way I've rolled during these holidays.
Anne Tyler novels and John Cleese's autobiography have been the light ones to heavier stuff - a Michel Houellebecq novel and a rereading of Ralph Ellison's Invisible Man.
I read Invisible Man in the late seventies as an undergraduate - so about 40 years ago (time flies like an arrow but fruit flies like an apple). I picked up a copy recently from the Little Red Bookshop in Hastings and not remembering much, decided to read it again in light of the black lives matter movement.
Can't get much more serious and 'heavy' than that really. This extraordinary book is like a fever dream put into words. The cops' killing of Tod Clifton and its aftermath in the book is harrowing to read and, sadly, very relevant to black lives matter events in America.
During his lifetime Ellison only wrote one novel. If you read it you'll understand why (a posthumous novel Juneteenth came out in 2019).
After that one I needed something from my unread pile that would create a different mood.
Enter Rod The Autobiography (by Rod Stewart) - the very opposite of an invisible man! It's become an inspired choice as Rod turns out to be hilarious! It's all very laddish and he's certainly a cad when it comes to the ladies, but the humour is what saves him.
Somewhat inevitably, it's prompted a Faces and Rod-a-thon at Maple Grove and a search for some of his early solo albums.
Top three songs: Mandolin Wind; Stay With Me; Miss Judy's Farm.
Love and peace - Wozza
