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| Night Letters |
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I just finished Night Letters by Robert Dessaix. My daughter had picked it up at the used book store. She thought the plot described inside the cover sounded like a good story. It does. A man who is dying of an incurable disease decides to travel across Europe. This book is his diary of his  daily travels that he writes in the evening before going to bed - hence the title. The book had some very mature themes that my 12-year old daughter would have had difficulty understanding. I won't let her read it. She is ok with that, too.
First and foremost Dessaix is an excellent writer. He uses several literary styles that makes the reading enjoyable and challenging at times. He assumes the reader knows Dante and other classical writers. He describes the cities in Europe in details that allow the imagination to draw vivid pictures as if you were walking with him. There are French, Italian, and Latin phrases throughout the book and he just assumes the reader can deal with them.
Dessaix never says what the disease is that his key character, Igor, is dying from. The book is split into three sections - essentially written from the three different places he stayed while touring Europe. As a resident of Australia, he is writing these letters to a friend "back home". There are several time he inserts personal notes just to remind us of the intended reader. It isn't until the second section of the book that we learn that Igor is gay. This shouldn't surprise because Dessaix is an outspoken (?) author for gays and lesbians. (Also authored An Anthology of Austrailian Gay and Lesbian Writing).
The intense internal struggles that Igor experiences are saddening. He is angry that others will not accept him and his lifestyle; angry that he is dying; angry that he has no hope. His anger comes out in a sarcastic way at time as he describes other people as hopeless and wanting. He describes these inner feelings - even his struggles with God. For example, as he sits in one of the gardens in Venice, he describes it..."Cloisters - I love them. That's probably partly because, for all intents and purposes, we don't have them in Australia, so they are strange and exotic to me, like Balinese temples...and the permission it gives you to be alone in your thoughts, to spiral inwards for a change, to take your time, detached from the time-keeping world outside. You secretly hope, in a cloister, that your monologue might prove to be a dialogue with God, but our cleverest minds assure us that this is a vain and dim-witted hope....The cloister garden, if I might put it like this, is like another, more intact self. "A garden inclosed is my sister, my spouse; a spring shut up, a fountain sealed...Awake oh north wind; and come, thou south; blow upon my garden that the spices thereof may flow out." It is also a little Eden reminding you of what you once were or might have been, and sheltering you while you contemplate it."
By the way, the quote I have highlighted...where do you think it is from? As I mentioned above, Dessaix just assumes the reader is familiar with the classics.
4:12A garden inclosed [is] my sister, [my] spouse; a spring shut up, a fountain sealed. ...4:16 Awake, O north wind; and come, thou south; blow upon my garden, [that] the spices thereof may flow out. Let my beloved come into his garden, and eat his pleasant fruits.
The sad side of the book is that Igor never comes to terms with God. He never accepts that he needs a Savior. He sees life as complex without hope and mostly driven by the libido without any higher purpose.
While Night Letters is not a great book in the story it tells, it is a delightful book in the way the story is told.
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Boy, that Solomon sure had a way with words. I still can't read much of SofS in one sitting...it is sooo embarrassing!
I find myself thinking about the author after I've read a book like this. Where must he/she go emotionally and mentally to write about such tragedy and still stay so creative? Do they end up depressed or exhausted after writing such a work or does it exhilarate them? Are they pretentious and self-worshipping or are they generous and humble? Would they be fun to have breakfast with? Are they as well read as their characters appear or are they just good at googling? I know, I know; I'm weird.
I love to read a dramatic tragedy from time to time. I'll put this one on the list and keep an eye out for a used copy of my own. |
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| Soozanne, those are thoughts that come from a caring heart...most people can't put them in words like you have, though. I think this guy would be fun to have a cup of coffee with. I just assumed he was well-read and well-traveled because of the details he offers, but you certainly have a point about google... |
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| Yeah, uggh. Sad. i read this book that came in a box of junk about a missionary family. Poisonwood something or other (Oprah book club) and it bothered me, cause it was making God out as an Idiot. It was well written, but zero edification, ya know? You are wise to keep your girl from that book. |
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Glenn |
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February 01, 2008 at 9:30am |
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| Hey Voice, thanks for sharing that review. I have not heard of that author before, but I might check the Library for it. |
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Thanks for the info Lara. Kelly loves books that spark her imagination, so we are careful what she reads...she is careful, too.
Thanks for the comments Glenn. |
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Joey |
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February 02, 2008 at 3:03pm |
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| It justs break your heart that he never comes to terms with God! |
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| But I also think that may be the appeal of the book. Not every story has a happy ending. |
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| I would agree with you DR...however, some of us like to escape and know what endings we want when we start a book...while I am ok with the ending, it is still sad... |
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