Steinbeck and the Last Visible Dog.

I have just finished reading 'East of Eden' by John Steinbeck. It's my second reading and a better one, because I took my time and read it properly, thinking about it as I went, sucking the marrow, so to speak.

I am struck by the similarity of Hoburn's philosophy in 'The Last Visible Dog' and the idea explored by Steinbeck of guilt, right and wrong, personal growth and personal accountability vs. fate, etc. 

When I revisited my ex once, he had a note on his fridge 'If it's to be, it's up to me'. It doesn't matter that this seemed a new idea for him, something he had to remind himself. Some of us are helped by parenting and circumstance to know this, to have incorporated it, and others not. 

These are different ways of seeing the same idea.

The older I get, the more I am disquieted by the idea of atonement. I am uncomfortable with the notion of karma. These, to me, smack of childish superstition.  I feel 'forgiveness of sins' is not useful.  They all remove personal accountability and the incentive, even necessity, for personal growth.

Here is one summary of 'East of Eden'.  It's a nicely crafted story, gritty, graceful. Allegorical. Great Steinbeck. 

The Mouse and His Child

The title of my blog, 'The Last Visible Dog' comes from an idea posed in a book by Russell Hoban entitled The Mouse and His Child.
I have written the merest summary of it in the link under my blog heading, but * here is a better one that may give you a clearer idea of how profound, unsettling and interesting it is.

My battered early copy of The Mouse and His Child with its illustrations by Lillian Hoban, would be one of the first things I would try and grab if I ever actually succeed in setting my house on fire by walking away when I had put the tea on.

Incidentally I'm very impressed that Jenny Brown and her friend Teresa at Shelf Love have posted a list of books they have read in the last twenty years. Their blog of reviews began about ten years ago, and that's a long-running blog too.

*If the first link doesn't work, here it is again: https://shelflove.wordpress.com/2012/08/09/the-mouse-and-his-child-review.

If you want another personal reaction to the book, there's one by Stuart Kelly of the Guardian, here.

If you want a review with more of the plot explained (spoilers alert), you can also find one here at Tygertale.

Just to complete this little round-up, there is now a wiki page for the book here, and the animated film version here.

Finally, if you are thinking to purchase this for a child, I would mention that both the book and the animated movie have parts that are rather scary, even 'nightmarish' for some children, although this book certainly sits somewhere in the children's book genre.  Perhaps a perfect one to read to them, and then discuss the meaning and metaphysics afterwards.

Eye Candy Day: TLVD Phenomenon Revisited

On the 1 September of my first year of blogging, I began the blogging series 'Eye Candy Day'.  On the first of the month, each month, for the following four years, without missing a single one, I posted, usually without comment or hint as to who it was, an image of a pretty or handsome human.  In my opinion, of course, and not always a truth universally acknowledged.
They were self-confessedly shallow, and possibly even slightly offensive to some, and justified by the words 'my Eye Candy Day should just be taken with a pinch of ..er.. sugar. I am usually so overly and deeply sensitive to others' feelings, once a month I have to redress the balance. :-)' 
Today I thought I would repost the first one as a tribute to my tenacity in the face of enormous public pressure (actually they often got more jocular comments than other posts, and, once he got used to them, even from Yorkshire Pudding to whom they seemed a direct testosterone-infused glove slap).

So without more ado, here is the face and the link to that first Eye Candy Day.  Many Happy Returns.  Maybe …

Eye Candy Day 1

A Poll: It's all about Me and You.

Since I was a kid I have always been driven to write regularly.  These days this blog is where most of my writing ends up.
Although these blogposts are written by me, and (sometimes) for me only, the vast majority of the time I have in mind a post that I hope will be of interest or amusement to others.  You.

And it's the comments, the feedback, the penny's worth from you, that makes blogging especially worthwhile to me.  Comments are not only the icing of the cake, they are the dried fruit, cherries and nuts inside too!

So, as I have been blogging now for almost exactly six years, I was hoping that you have enough examples now, and would tell me what you like best.  (If you need reminding, the categories down the margin will lead you to some typical posts).

There's a poll at the top left-hand side of this page.  It's anonymous, you can only vote once (but can vote for more than one category), and if you do, you will help me to write more of the sorts of things you want to read.

Please do!  I'd love to get your opinion.

Here are a few images from the last six years' posts: