Sunday, February 20, 2022

thoughts on 'memoirs'

 I am listening to such a sad book at the moment 'The Wild Silence - Memoir by Ray Winn.  She is coming to terms with death, of her mother, than I suppose of Moth, her husband.  'The Salt Path', her first book of their trek round the Cornish coast  was widely acclaimed.  That first walk when they were homeless and Moth was ill but somehow managed to improve on this journey was a triumph of courage.

Anyone who has sat with a dying person will know her grief as she sits besides her mother.  The hospital atmosphere, the kind nurses, the doctors who always takes so long to turn up and tell you anything. The food tube, inserted for nourishment, they are horrors not only for the person who has to suffer them but for the relatives.  I expect over the last two years many have observed this, sadly from afar.

Well going through the news early this morning came across two writers  Margaret Attwood interviewed by Hadley Freeman Playing With Fire.  I have never watched or read the 'Handmaid's Tale' dystopian writing scares me.  Attwood is a woman of stern views, you might call her one of the 'elders' of female dissent, and like  J.K.Rowling has the courage to speak out against the extreme feminist movements.

The other book I read about was Amy Liptrot - The Instant,  A Memoir.  You can read an abstract here  So here once again you can read a memoir, this one actually taken from her diaries.  A modern woman? Always seeking, but you will be pleased to know she has settled down with a partner and two children,  And no I will not be reading her books!

Another book I came across this morning.  I was talking to Andrew and he described a friend who carved on avocado stones, and I said I remember the little carved Japanese Netsukes Paul had collected. Well I went in search of the word, (I have always forgotten words so it is not a sign of old age ;) And came on the story of 'The Hare With Amber Eyes' you can read about it here.  Here is a photo of this little carved creature that sparked such an interesting story.  The Nazis stealing of valuable art work is well known through the second world war and it reminded me that we have in this house a badly done painting of the large house confiscated in Austria from my first mother-in-law relatives.  She eventually got the land back.




12 comments:

  1. Read 'The Hare With Amber Eyes' a few years ago and found it incredibly moving. Such a talented author and I believe, ceramicist. Whenever I see Vienna on the television I am transported back to that book the netsukes and that period of history.
    Hope all is well with you this windy weekend. Jan Bx

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    1. Happy that I sparked a memory, if I remember right the book was given out free in Vienna, though reading the blurb in the Wiki, there is criticism of it not being factually true.
      We had lots of large flaked snow, it was beautiful but it soon all melted away, and we are forecast rain today Jan.

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  2. Another one who won't be reading Amy Liptrot's book - her persona is a million light years from anything contained in me . . .

    I began reading The Handmaids' Tail but soon decided I have better things to do with my life!

    The little netsuke of the hare with the amber eyes is exquisite and the book sounds a good read too.

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    1. Yes Amy Liptrot's books seem the new modern genre. Go away, do something, and then write a book, a bit like blogging ;) As for the Handmaids Tale, a little too bleak, and when you see some females dressing up as them to score points in the eternal fight of feminism, it definitely goes against the grain of my type of feminism.

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  3. "Memoir" by definition involves change and reinterpretation. It isn't history, biography, autobiography or diary which aim to be accurate. So with Amy Liptrot, one wonders how much is diary and how much is memoir.

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    1. I think as a word Tasker it has just become fashionable, probably suggested by the publishers to catch an audience.

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  4. Exquisite is not a word I really like much, but those netsukes come into that category.

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  5. Miniaturisation requires great skill, good eye and a steady hand. If you read up about netsuke they could be attached to belts or used as toggles. I remember the above MIL had small ivory carvings and a jade collection as well and I much preferred the jade.

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  6. Moth Winn was alive when Raynor Winn wrote that second book. I cannot find any news of his death.

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    1. No you are quite right Joanne, but she definitely wrote of his impending death. Sadly he must be living a wretched time with this illness.

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  7. I find it hard to understand the mindset of Ms. Liptrot. What was she looking for? What did she expect to find? I guess I do not understand exposing my very being (I'm not talking nudity) to a parade of strangers. What is the satisfaction of that? To me, the connection is the excitement. The knowledge of each other. I mean, I believe every woman has the right to choose what she decides as meaningful, but I guess that I just can't understand it. I don't have a real desire to try to.

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    1. I think of it as the 'new age' Debby. The young are of course fighting to be seen as something different. Everyone is saying 'look at me and what I have done' hence the need to put down every thing that has happened in their life. And of course driven by the need to make money. If you think about news and the nonsense they churn out, we are totally absorbed in ourselves.

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