27 February 2008
8:45 PM
"Once upon a time there was a boy and a girl, and her laughter was a question he wanted to spend his whole life answering."This novel focuses on the stories of the immigrant Gursky, and a precocious teen Alma. Confusing at first, it slowly converges into a history of
survival, visibility and the terrible
sadness when we 'collect the world in small handfuls'. Very nice read.
Krauss says, and I quote,
"It's what we
know of
love that gives depth and shape to our solitude.
The book is about the necessity of imagining in the space of loss and of
filling silence with made-up things—thoughts, feelings, images. Everyone invents things to survive."
-
"For a moment he forgot the danger he was in, grateful for
the world which purposely puts divisions in place so that we can overcome them,
feeling the joy of getting closer, even if deep down we can never forget the sadness of our insurmountable differences."
