It’s knowing

How do you get to know a place. I am overwhelmed, awe-struck all the time. The landscape in the top end  is all about moments, moments of intense pleasure that blow you away –  the moon hiding in the drifting clouds at night, watching through the she-oaks; the waves plopping onto the foot-cutting sand at Casuarina, unmindful of you; the rising sun picking out, bit by bit, glittering specks of light on the dull, flat grey water; the smooth ochre and cream layered rocks of Dripstone cliffs; the headache heat that shocks you to exhalation when you step out the door. Pleasure and pain, bang! all in one. Fight it, you collapse, exhausted. It’s all about flow.  Go and rest under a tree and think about it. Forget that you thought you could control it.

Then –  go and watch this video, which is perhaps not so unrelated as you might think –  Kim Scott talking about his book ‘That Dead Man Dance‘. The place is Western Australia. The contrast is a very old culture versus a visitor to the shore, and how that might sound if you wrote it up in a novel.

What’s blowing me away

What’s blowing me away?

• The May winds, that spread the seeds that grew in the wet.
• The flute that connects me with a bunch of crazy adults, who make music on a Saturday, that keeps us all sane.
• The book that has the most beautiful illustrations about death, that aims to save the children, that may never be read to children: Dust – read it and save the children. ( Buy it from ABC books .)
• The movie that reminds me about the importance of dreams, that reinforces my love of inspiring teachers, that brings me hope that kids won’t have to always work in the tin mines: Rainbow Troops – Laskar Pelangi. (An Indonesian film, shot on the island of Belitong, screened  as  part of the Darwin Writers’ Festival, watched in the open air at the Deckchair cinema, under the stars.)

Inspiration and gems

What am I reading now while the rain pours down and the clouds are grey? An unpolished gem: Alice Pung’s book (Unpolished Gem). I heard her speak at the Melbourne Writers’ Festival last year and I love her sharp critique of what it means to be Asian in Australia, particularly Chinese-Cambodian-Australian. She cuts through like a razor. She’s not sentimental. She’s not afraid to reveal her own inadequacies and stomach turning anxieties. She doesn’t hold back commenting on the white ghosts, ie the Anglos, the Skips.

I didn’t want to put the book down – as revealing as Andre Agassi’s book Open, and that one has to be one of the best reads around. You must get hold of it. Andre’s discipline with his tennis practice is so inspiring – sounds like a cliche but for a while it gave me courage with my flute practice! Ha – can you believe that?! I am so slack, but I kind of picked up on Agassi’s perseverance, well, for two minutes. It’s all in the head (plus 90% perspiration). Yes, it’s all in the head . . . chattering monkeys, self talk, blah blah blah – no wonder meditation is good – cleans out the clutter and refuse that we cram into our brains. You’d think I knew better at my age.

Captain’s log: Becalmed down south

Due to extended southern visit, find self temporarily marooned with second son in Melbourne. Must submit to being fed by excellent chef, reading and lazing around all day long.

Weather report – we swelter in 37C heat – but still nothing like that of my adopted northern city. Here we are likely to evaporate, to disappear like a genie into a bottle. In Darwin there is danger of being washed away in a river of sweat. Recent communcations from Darwin indicate that rain has not fallen there either for some time, however. World somewhat topsy turvy.

To keep self amused during becalmed period am reading cook book – probably classified as fiction in the book shop, but which bits are fiction and which bits are fact is immaterial. Writing style keeps me engaged and, surprisingly, wanting to continue reading about sloppy aspic, the innards of murdered lobsters, and disembowelled ducks. 500 recipes – who would have thought that could make for most entertaining Christmas-time reading ( Julie and Julia, Julie Powell).

Weather report predicts more heat ahead, so strange reading/viewing to continue. Perhaps a bout of Lost in Austen (DVD) will suffice tonight.

Books I am reading

The Cellist of Sarajevo by Steven Galloway

Why I think this is an interesting novel: Well written, clear and easy to devour and ‘enjoy’, if you can enjoy a war novel. But The Book Thief by Markus Zusak is the same – set in the midst of war, both books are uplifting. Not everyone is brought down by the depravity of the dreadful circumstances. It’s set during the siege of Sarajevo which I think lasted four years. The author uses only 22 days of the siege for the story.

For me the story is interesting because Galloway did a great deal of research for the novel. He spoke to many who lived through the destruction, or knew the circumstances, and he makes history come alive by skillfully choosing what remains true to life and what is fictionalised. It is driven by the characters and the plot. The inner thoughts of the characters reveal how they come to make their moral judgements under pressure. I am not sure that the voice of each character is really differentiated, but it doesn’t seem to matter. The overall effect is profound. Would you pull the trigger? Would you care about your neighbour? What would you care about in all that ugliness and deprivation?

Reviews: http://www.randomhouse.ca/catalog/display.pperl?isbn=9780307397034