Saturday, March 10, 2018

Asymmetry

At first I thought she was giving herself away for nothing. Then I thought he was callow. I wondered at the two different judgements, then watched how the relationship changed, like the light on the same building, day after day.

She nails how unfair it was that he wrote in paragraphs without dialogue. She's turning the tables, she's writing about having sex with the author of novels that takes the male perspective. Her affair with him is turning the tables, except there is asymmetry. He is rich in money and knowledge and experience.

There's trouble when the narcissist gets what he wants, adoration, but to keep being kind and present is how to raise above the gratification. He sneaks in thoughtfulness towards her. He shares his wisdom and resources, but guards himself as well but it doesn't seem too much yet.

I keep looking at the photo of her, imagining I'm Philip Roth. Is this the ultimate Roth fan jerk off?

Thursday, March 8, 2018

Manhattan Beach

Jennifer Egan's Manhattan Beach has interesting vectors. She knows words for little things like chignon and peignoir.

There are fun words like Wallabout Bay, which is where the navy yard is in Brooklyn. I used to run around it when I did my circle going over the Brooklyn Bridge and then running back on the Williamsburg Bridge. There's a city pool over there that is a nice layover on a hot day.

There is also the nautical stuff. The early diving stuff.

And then NYC during WW2 stuff. The flux of ethnicities described before political correctness.

I've been thinking about reading downhill. Certain books are all downhill and a pure joy. Some books take an investment and then run downhill. Some books are like a mesa, initial investment, smooth flat surface, and then sharp downhill at the end.

How much you bring to the downhill is another question.

A thing I don't like about reading on a tablet is that you don't have the physicality of the book to tell you how much more you have. And no book ends on 100%, there's always varying degrees of fluff at the end, from a chapter in the next novel to essays to just a few pages. You could go to the contents and check it out, but it's not physical. I'm always afraid of losing my place even though I know I could find it.

Egan writes about the character seeing the newsreel of the Missouri being launched, and you can see it online.

In the end, a lovely American tale.