From The Baochi Book Collection
Yes, Clarissa thinks, it’s time for the day to be over. We throw our parties; we abandon our families to live alone in Canada; we struggle to write books that do not change the world, despite our gifts and our unstinting efforts, our most extravagant hopes. We live our lives, do whatever we do, and then we sleep—it’s as simple and ordinary as that. A few jump out windows, or drown themselves, or take pills; more die by accident; and most of us are slowly devoured by some disease, or, if we’re very fortunate, by time itself. There’s just this for consolation: an hour here or there when our lives seem, against all odds & expectations, to burst open & give us everything we’ve ever imagined, though everyone but children (and perhaps even they) know these hours will inevitably be followed by others, far darker and more difficult. Still, we cherish the city, the morning, we hope, more than anything for more. Heaven only knows why we love it so.
This quote, for me, simultaneously conveys life’s inevitable darkness and its sheer simple beauty. The pleasures of life do not occur as frequently as we would like, and our individual imprint on the world is minimal. But those moments are so significant to us that we (or most of us) live by the hope that more happy moments will come.
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I wrote this whole quote in my notebook just now. I couldn’t agree more. I just finished this book and I was looking on google for people who reviewed it and I’m so happy to find your blog.
Cassie, thanks so much for visiting and reading my blog. The Hours is one of my favorite works of fiction ever. The writing is genius, and the story and prose deeply affected me. Please hang around and talk more!
I agree. It took me a long time to finish and I think that’s because it was just so beautiful. I really didn’t want to let it go. Have you read anything similar that you can recommend?
Hey Cassie,
Another Cunningham book that is really good but didn’t get the buzz of The Hours is Flesh and Blood. IMHO, it’s a similar but better story than The Corrections (Franzen). But Flesh and Blood isn’t that similar to The Hours.
In terms of similar intensity, have you read Endless Love? I stayed up all night to read it cover to cover: http://thebaochi.com/2011/09/30/intense-endless-love-scott-spencer.
What are some of your fave books?