Finally finished this book by Muriel Barbery. It was beautifully written but very hard for me to follow - lots of profound thoughts that I wanted to appreciate but maybe couldn't quite grasp in entirety. I still enjoyed it though, and was able to appreciate some moments of wit and humor, the depth of character development, and some particular passages that gave me those special moments we all look for in books:
"When tea becomes ritual, it takes its place at the heart of our ability to see greatness in small things. Where is beauty to be found? In great things that, like everything else, are doomed to die, or in small things that aspire to nothing, yet know how to set a jewel of infinity in a single moment?"
"When something is bothering me, I seek refuge. No need to travel far; a trip to the realm of literary memory will suffice. For where can one find more noble distraction, more entertaining company, more delightful enchantment than in literature?"
"There's so much humanity in a love of trees, so much nostalgia for our first sense of wonder, so much power in just feeling our own insignificance when we are surrounded by nature...yes, that's it: just thinking about trees and their indifferent majesty and our love for them teaches us how ridicuous we are - vile parasites squirming on the surface of the earth - and at the same time how deserving of life we can be, when we can honor this beauty that owes us nothing."
"'They didn't recognize me,' I say.
I come to a halt in the middle of the sidewalk, completely flabbergasted.
'They didn't recognize me,' I repeat.
He stops in turn, my hand still on his arm.
'It is because they have never seen you,' he says. 'I would recognize you anywhere.'"
No comments:
Post a Comment