Tony felt suddenly acutely self conscious of his own freshly laundered clothes, which smelled of the eucalyptus fabric softener used by his mother that, of all the scents of his childhood, held the strongest associations for him of being home (Eleanor Catton)

Wie geht's?

This post is inspired by my good friend GK who suggested I read Birnam Wood. He was keen to hear about my opinions of the actual writing. So here goes with my initial impressions, GK, bearing in mind that I'm only 50 or so pages into it.

Yeah boy, time for some literary criticism, Wozza style.

First things first: I'm happily reading it. I look forward to picking it up.

Partly, because I feel that Catton is writing so that I might enjoy the experience of reading. She credits her readers with some intelligence and I like that. 

Now, I'm no literary snob, I love reading pulp fiction as much as the next philistine.  I'm a big fan of Lee Child novels for instance, but Birnam Wood isn't a novel that I can read in a day or two because it's like someone speaking to me in one or two syllable words. 

Instead, I have to read Birnam Wood in a deliberate way; concentrating and being present. If my mind wanders I lose track.

In that way it's like a Dickens' novel or a Shakespearean play - she invites that comparison with a title like Birnam Wood (her name for a collective of opportunistic market gardeners).

Like the work of those two giants of literature, it doesn't take long to adjust the brain and get in the groove of the writing. 

It also doesn't take long to realise that the language is rich, the sentences are often complex and labyrinthine, and the characters have real depth. Hey! She won The Booker Prize, so she knows what she's doing!

Interestingly, I'm noticing some distinct stylistic changes which suit different subject matter. The interior monologue and character motivation stuff, for instance, tends to be convoluted and that suits the context, while there are plainer, simpler sections for simpler exposition. They all flow quite seamlessly so it's not that obvious and it doesn't get in the way of my enjoyment.

All up, it deserves to be widely read and enjoyed (rather than just admired). That's pretty high praise from me.

Love and peace - WNP

Thrice and once the hedge-pig whined.

Wie geht's?

Karma at work here: mate of mine recommended I read Eleanor Catton's Birnam Wood (coincidentally, I'd looked at the blurb on it a few days ago but didn't buy it. Doh!)

So I looked on-line and saw the price was mainly 35 to 39 dollars, except at the Warehouse - they were offering it at 26 dollars.

My heart sunk. 

I hate the Hastings' Warehouse. And I mean, hate. It feels depressing going in there anyway but since they ditched records and CDs it's even worse.

But $26 is $26.

So, I went in. Gulp.

Straight to the books section. No Birhnam Wood. No shop assistants. I went back to the shelves and looked again. Nope. Nada.

I spied a guy in Warehouse livery and approached him. He checked on his desktop device. They definitely had copies. I said, 'I may be blind then'.

We trudged to the shelves. He looked. I looked. Nope. Nada.

'Phew', I said. 'I'm not blind'. Not even a flicker from him. But he did say, 'I'm just helping another customer but I will check in the back after that'.

I waited 5 minutes - he was still faffing around. So I left muttering bah humbugs about customer service these days.

Yes, I could buy it on-line from the Warehouse for $26 but I don't have faith in them. At all. Even if I did, it would be tainted with the nasty experience.

So I'll go back to Whitcoulls today and pay the higher price. At least I can use my rewards card there. And they serve you. And they can actually find the book!

Better be worth it Greg.

Love and peace - Wozza

I am 'El Rayo' (David Lindley)

Wie geht's?

During the last few years, it's been a rough time for musicians and actors of a certain vintage. 

So far in 2023, some biggies have headed off Planet Earth for further adventures:

• David Crosby
• David Lindley
• Raquel Welch
• Gina Lollobrigida
• Robbie Bachman
• Jeff Beck
• Fred White
• Lisa Marie Presley
• Wayne Shorter
• Burt Bacharach
• Tom Verlaine
• Cindy Williams

This is, of course, all part and parcel of aging. The bands and actors that I grew up listening to and watching are around 10 to 20 years older than me. In other words in their seventies and eighties.

Macca is 81 this year. Ringo will be 83, and Dylan 82. Although immortal as artists, even they can't actually live forever.

Of course, it will still be a shock when they do pass on. They've always been walking the Earth at the same time as me.

I spent the weekend listening to EL-Rayo-X, David Lindley's first solo album. It's a lot of fun.

A memory that I shared with my WTWMC buddies was that I once sold that album to Ian Mune (the great NZ actor/ Director) while working at Marbecks Records in the Queen's Arcade. He came into Marbecks one day in 1981 and was looking for an album he'd heard at a party. When he described the style of music I instantly knew it was Lindley's album. He was impressed!

R.I.P. David Lindley

Love and peace - Wozza

Hello! How are you? Have you been alright through all those lonely, lonely, lonely, lonely lonely nights? That's what I'd say, I'd tell you everything if you'd pick up that telephone (Electric Light Orchestra)

Wie geht's?

Modern communication technology is great when it works, isn't it. When it doesn't? Moshkala (pronounced moosh/killer). It's Arabic for problem.

Recently, during Cyclone Gabrielle, power, internet and cell phones all went dead for a period of time.

For a while there, I couldn't contact anyone, and no one could contact me.

Power in Takapau came back after a few hours and so did internet and cell phone reception. But elsewhere on the East Coast, in Napier (Napier!!) and Gisborne, there was radio silence for days!

That was super frustrating, as it became extremely difficult to contact my workmates in the worst affected areas. That lead to anxiety about their safety. And so it went on, for days.

(this big gap is me thinking)

I'm sorry, but I don't have a solution for all that because we are so reliant on technology these days. Any ideas?

Love and peace - Wozza

And the rain rain rain came down down down

Wie geht's?

Having just had Cyclone Gabrielle pay a visit, we now have heavy rain warnings for the next few days. Sigh.

Made me instantly think about this scene:

Love and peace and kia kaha whanau - Wozza

I was mistaken, only reflections, of a shadow that I saw (David Crosby)

Wie geht's?

What a week! An 6.1 earthquake gave the house a shake to add a timely full stop to a week when Hawke's Bay was caught up in a National Emergency thanks to a tropical cyclone that swung by after visiting the north.

Cyclone Gabrielle did its best to wipe out a lot of stuff made by humans in Hawke's Bay, Gisborne, Auckland and Northland: crops destroyed; homes swept away; fatalities; water levels that ripped out bridges and roads; power out; cell phones useless...

It was a tough, challenging week but I kept these words from Ma in mind:

“Women can change better’n a man,” Ma said soothingly.

 “Woman got all her life in her arms. Man got it all in his head.”“Man, he lives in jerks-baby born an’ a man dies, an’ that’s a jerk-gets a farm and looses his farm, an’ that’s a jerk. Woman, its all one flow, like a stream, little eddies, little waterfalls, but the river, it goes right on. Woman looks at it like that. We ain’t gonna die out. People is goin’ on-changin’ a little, maybe, but goin’ right on.”

― John Steinbeck, quote from The Grapes of Wrath

Love and peace to the North East and kia kaha - WNP

We love The Arsenal, we do!

Arsenal v AC Milan in Dubai*

Wie geht's?

The crowd chanted 1 nil to The Arsenal after we went ahead against Brentford this morning (4.00am NZ kick off).

But I wasn't confident of a clean sheet, to be fair.

Sure enough - a professional foul by the Brentford (since when is clashing the defender behind his back allowed??) led to a scrappy goal and we finished up 1-1.

After the Everton loss this is another blow but football always keeps fans on their toes with a dodgy feeling in the collective pits of their stomachs.

Winning in sport is never guaranteed. We wouldn't be drawn to the drama if it was.

Manchester City in midweek - a real toughie. Come on Arsenal! 

Love and peace - Gooner Wozza

* The ticket above was from our recent trip to Dubai. I was lucky enough to see Arsenal play (and beat) AC Milan in the Premier League lull while the World Cup was on in Qatar. I had an alert on my phone that the Dubai Super Cup was happening and when I checked I realized I'd be in Dubai for it. Not only that, it was within walking distance from our hotel.

What a great privilege to see the boys in action!