Heading for a rainy abyss
Barbie the weather bimbo claims it's going to rain for half of November. We got our derrieres out and about in anticipation of this soggy stretch. Today's little weather snapshot described it as "seasonable." After that comes the thesaurical parade into a soggy autumn.
Deeper into Wharton's collected stories, with an occasional foray into the New York Review of Books; it had a good piece about the history of Australia, entited "Amnesia in Australia," written by Caroline Moorehead. She reviewed and discussed several books, some of them fiction, about the latter of which she observes,"...good, well-researched fiction can also be the most satisfying form of social history." She included a historical work by Robert Hughes which was published in 1986,"The Fatal Shore," which she describes as having "dazzling breadth and sweep"; it concerns the early population - it seems inaccurate to call the dumping of tens of thousands of British convicts upon Australia's shores as "settlement" - of the continent downuder, and the terrible ramifications that continue into this century. I remember reading excerpts of this book, and being afraid to read the whole thing. Now it's out in paperback, and maybe I have enough nerve to digest yet another horrific example of European empire building and its consequences.
Deeper into Wharton's collected stories, with an occasional foray into the New York Review of Books; it had a good piece about the history of Australia, entited "Amnesia in Australia," written by Caroline Moorehead. She reviewed and discussed several books, some of them fiction, about the latter of which she observes,"...good, well-researched fiction can also be the most satisfying form of social history." She included a historical work by Robert Hughes which was published in 1986,"The Fatal Shore," which she describes as having "dazzling breadth and sweep"; it concerns the early population - it seems inaccurate to call the dumping of tens of thousands of British convicts upon Australia's shores as "settlement" - of the continent downuder, and the terrible ramifications that continue into this century. I remember reading excerpts of this book, and being afraid to read the whole thing. Now it's out in paperback, and maybe I have enough nerve to digest yet another horrific example of European empire building and its consequences.
posted by isabelita at 10:11 AM
4 Comments:
Ah, to have the stomach to learn histories lessons - some thing to wish for in a president, eh? No doubt there are some parallels from your reading that will resonate well with our current situation
'spike, it seems as if there have been echos, parallels and outright repetitions of bad historic events in our times, in everything I read.
History-larnin' - hell, no, too much like real work. Nto enough like clearing brush.
I really wish the weather prognosticators would get their stories straight. My psyche was prepared for a winter of blue skies promised by an El Nino. What's with all the gray and wind? We've had plenty of rain the past two days. No let up in sight.
I have often wished that I studied history in college instead of anthropology. I majored in physical anthropology, which is a kind of history, but so old all that's left are the fossilized bones of things no longer extant. History would have better prepared me for the idiocy of the world.
Robin, I think your perspective might be of more value to you now if you do some historical study on your own. Or maybe you were wise beyond your years in college. I feel now that I have more tools with which to process things that I read. And it's strange, but many summer evening talks out on the porch with my dad regarding the state of the world are echoing as I read.
Post a Comment
<< Home