Category Archives: between books

The Day After Syndrome

Posted on by
2

Those of you who do any kind of travel for work will recognize this syndrome: you go to where you’ve been invited, do your stuff well and intensely for a week if you’re in a festival or at a conference, or if you’re an itinerant consultant or storyteller, several places over a month or two.

And the last night, post-reception, post-e-mail exchanges with other artists, post-follow-ups on future events you’d like to get contacts for, the last night before you go home, you walk or cab back to the hotel contemplating all the wonderful people the world holds, how glad you are you got to teach writing skills to so many students, how energizing and lovely they were, how happy and blessed you are to do this kind of work.

Entering your hotel room, the evening lies spread before you like a peacock’s tail: will you swim first, walk across to that little Greek diner and get your salad? Check your e-mails? Download and post your photos of the two schools and the festival talk you did that day?

You sit down. And that’s the last time you move, except to pick up the remote to find the latest reality TV show, and sure enough here are a bunch of decorative thirtysomethings all mad at each other for no reason you can discern, but wait, are those dead people? Oh, this is the one your friends have been talking about for the past year, but you can’t follow a thing. Why do they keep killing each other instead of the zombies?

You might also find energy enough to open that ale you bought at the beginning of the week in a fit of localvoreism but didn’t drink yet because you’ve been doing three events a day and chatting with people and you wanted to be clear-headed.

After the zombies, a rerun of a Hollywood talk show will appear. You’ll channel surf, sit through half of something called Game of Thrones–and if you thought the undead-ers were incomprehensible…. If it’s a game, why are all these people screwing each other all the time–literally?

Hi ho the glamorous life. You can get a lot done during the weeknights back at the hotel, high on events that have gone well. Discipline exists for those evenings. But that last night before you go home, just take two aspirin and go to bed hollow, drained, as if the Dump Truck of Art hit you from behind, then sped off laughing while your body lay sprawled on the pavement.

It will pass. By the time you get home, you’ll be raring to get back to your writing schedule, answer e-mails that yes, you’d LOVE to go to the next place. More cool people to meet, fun places to visit, great ideas to explore. Life comes back.

exhaustion photoIt’s okay to take that night off, the day after; regroup, recharge, relax. Just stay off social media and DON’T take any selfies. Trust me on this; no good will come of it. Put the remote in your hand, and don’t touch anything else with an On switch. This, too, shall pass.

The Monday Book: NAME OF THE WIND by Patrick Rothfuss

Posted on by
Reply

The Monday book is brought to you by guest reviewer Beth O’Connor, a friend of mine.

Fantasy books are brain candy.  I love them – read them almost exclusively – but they rarely offer much in the way of intellectual nutrition.  And occasionally they leave you with the feeling that you need to brush your teeth.

And then I read Patrick Rothfuss’ Name of the Wind and its sequel The Wise Man’s Fear.  On the surface, these are well-written fantasy books.  But dig deeper and you’ll see that Rothfuss uses a make-believe world to challenge social norms and address injustice.  Institutional poverty, caste systems, gender roles, bigotry, etc. all are reviewed and dismissed as not only unfair, but harmful to society as a whole.

The fantasy world allows the reader to consider the situations without bias.  Where a non-fiction writer might have a hard time to get a reader to be objective about real-life racial stereotypes, Rothfuss can address those same issues about the Edema Ruh and other groups he has created because no one has ever heard of them before.

Additionally, Rothfuss’ characters spout some wonderful philosophy.  I’ve never wanted to quote a fantasy writer before, but I may have to start using some of these gems:

  • “The day we fret about our future is the day we leave our childhood behind.”
  •  “Books are a poor substitute for female companionship, but they are easier to find.”
  • “Clothes do not make the man, but you need the proper costume if you want to play the part.”
  • “That is how heavy a secret can become.  It can make blood flow easier than ink.”
  •  “Nothing in the world is harder than convincing someone of an unfamiliar truth.”
  • “Half of seeming clever is keeping your mouth shut at the right times.”
  •  “If you want to know the truth of who you are, walk until not a person knows your name.  Travel is the great leveler, the great teacher.”

My biggest surprise was how I found Rothfuss – a relative new comer in the fantasy world.  An interview on his efforts appeared in my copy of World Ark, the magazine Heifer International produces for their donors.  Heifer strives to end world hunger through teaching people how to care for livestock rather than just giving them food.  Heifer included an article about Rothfuss because of the work he has done to raise funds for Heifer, including donating most of the income he receives from the sale of his books.

In his own words; “I’ve been poor before, but this time it’s for a good cause.”  Rothfuss pulls together other fantasy authors, publishing companies and readers for an annual event called “Worldbuilders” (worldbuilders.org).  The 2013 event raised over $678,000 for Heifer International.

The first book starts a bit slow as Rothfuss takes a full six chapters to develop the scene, but once the stage is set, the plot moves like a freight train.  I highly recommend reading Name of the Wind and The Wise Man’s Fear.  But prepare for disappointment, the third book of the series has yet to be published.