The World Beyond BetterMost > The Culture Tent

Hey, What Ya Reading??? A book???

<< < (22/33) > >>

injest:
you are reading very heavy material, Kerry..

Kerry:

--- Quote from: injest on January 28, 2009, 12:52:46 am ---you are reading very heavy material, Kerry..

--- End quote ---

That's true, Jess. The last couple of books I've read have been somewhat angst-filled. So I've decided on a change and am presently reading . . . . .


. . . . . just for something different.

delalluvia:
In the trench Francesco took two hours to die. His gore soaked into the sleeves and flanks of my tunic. His shattered head was cradled in my arms like a little child and his mouth formed words that only he could hear. Tears began to follow each other down his cheeks. I gathered his tears on my fingers and drank them. I bent down and whispered into his ear, "Francesco, I have always loved you." His eyes rolled up and met mine. He fixed my gaze. He cleared his throat with difficulty and said, "I know." I said, "I never told you until now." He smiled that slow laconic smile and said, "Life's a bitch, Carlo. I feel good with you." I saw the light grow dim in his eyes and he began the long slow journey into death. There was no morphia. The agony must have been indescribable. He did not ask me to shoot him; perhaps at the very end he loved his vanishing life.

 :'( :'( :'( :'(

retropian:

--- Quote from: Kerry on January 27, 2009, 11:26:25 pm ---I've just finished reading "Captain Corelli's Mandolin" by Louis de Bernieres. Not since reading the "Brokeback Mountain" short story have I shed so many tears over a printed page. It was a real roller-coaster ride of emotions, from having to put the book down because I couldn't see the page for tears, right to the other extreme where I was laughing out loud. They made a film of it. I've not seen the film. It's had bad reviews. I didn't want to see it because I heard they changed the plot and cut-out all the gay content. I love this book. It's one of my favourite books now, right up there with "Brokeback Mountain" and Mary Renault's "The Persian Boy." Please treat yourself and read this wonderful book. It is the most beautiful love story, plus so very much more. Bet it makes you Google "Cephallonia." I'll re-read it in a couple of years.

It's difficult to choose a favourite quote from such a beautifully written novel, but if I had to (please progress beyond this point with caution, as I am about to reveal an integral aspect of the plot), it would be Carlo's description of Francesco's death:

I put down my rifle and climbed out of the trench. The Greeks did not shoot at me. I reached Francesco and saw that the side of his head had been blown away. The pieces of skull looked grey and were coated in membrane and thick blood. Some of the fluid was bright red, and some of it was crimson. He was still alive. I looked down at him and my eyes were blinded with tears. I knelt and gathered him into my arms. He was so emaciated from the winter and the hardship that he was as light as a sparrow. I stood up and faced the Greeks. I was offering myself to their guns. There was a silence, and then a cheer came from their lines. One of them shouted hoarsely, "Bravissimo." I turned and carried the limp bundle back to my lines.

In the trench Francesco took two hours to die. His gore soaked into the sleeves and flanks of my tunic. His shattered head was cradled in my arms like a little child and his mouth formed words that only he could hear. Tears began to follow each other down his cheeks. I gathered his tears on my fingers and drank them. I bent down and whispered into his ear, "Francesco, I have always loved you." His eyes rolled up and met mine. He fixed my gaze. He cleared his throat with difficulty and said, "I know." I said, "I never told you until now." He smiled that slow laconic smile and said, "Life's a bitch, Carlo. I feel good with you." I saw the light grow dim in his eyes and he began the long slow journey into death. There was no morphia. The agony must have been indescribable. He did not ask me to shoot him; perhaps at the very end he loved his vanishing life.




 

--- End quote ---

 "Captain Corelli's Mandolin" was recommended to me ages ago. I'll have to read it for sure now. I also love Mary Renault novels. "The Persian Boy" is great, and "The Last of the Wine" is stellar! IMHO. "The Last Charioteer" is also wonderful, set during WW2, so essentially contemporary for Mary Renault, which was different for her since she usually focused on historical fiction set in ancient or Classical Greece. She was a historian of that era.

Kerry:

--- Quote from: retropian on January 29, 2009, 10:37:47 pm --- "Captain Corelli's Mandolin" was recommended to me ages ago. I'll have to read it for sure now. I also love Mary Renault novels. "The Persian Boy" is great, and "The Last of the Wine" is stellar! IMHO. "The Last Charioteer" is also wonderful, set during WW2, so essentially contemporary for Mary Renault, which was different for her since she usually focused on historical fiction set in ancient or Classical Greece. She was a historian of that era.

--- End quote ---

If you're fond of Mary Renault, may I recommend this excellent biography by David Sweetman? It's very good.

Navigation

[0] Message Index

[#] Next page

[*] Previous page