I’m reading The End of the Story by Lydia Davis on my daily commute. Today I came across this passage that I had to share:
One of the books is a novel by Faulkner I read after he left me, a paperback so old that its pages are yellow and its outer margins brown, its glue so brittle that each page, after I had read it and turned it, fell quietly off the spine, and because I did not close the book whenever I put it aside, but left it lying open face up on the windowsill by my bed, not really a bound book any longer but two piles, one of bound pages and one of loose pages, the book did not close on the story, and the story remained present in the room while I was reading the book and for many days after, as if it were loose in the room, had floated up from the pages, and hung there under the raftered ceiling
Isn’t that wonderful?
You know what else is pretty cool and is making me almost wish I had an iPad? The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy app. Don’t panic and don’t forget your towel.
In case you are traveling through the universe, it’s a good idea to have snacks and what better snack than books made from fruit leather and white chocolate? I am not a fan of white chocolate and I don’t even know if it is vegan so I won’t be making any of these, but if you do, please share about it.
I had Lydia Davis on my wish list, and then i read a dreadful review and took it off… will I be reinstating her? The thing about Hitchhikers that always made me laugh was the answer being 42. I remind myself of that in tense situations and it always makes me smile.
Litlove, you may want to reconsider putting Davis back onto your list. There is so much about Hitchhilers that tickles my funnybone and 42 is definitely one of them. I haven’t read them in ages though. Now I’m thinking it might be time for a reread. Hmmm…
What a lovely passage, Stefanie. I love the idea of the story floating around the room, like those little particles of dust we only see when the light streams in from a certain angle…and we unconsciously breathe it all in.
I just started the Davis (not to the quote you shared yet), but unsurprisingly I’m really enjoying it so far. I was unsure how she would carry off a novel-length work, as her strength is really in these micro-stories of the length of the quote above, but thus far it’s pretty compelling. The only thing that’s distracting me is that I keep trying to figure out where the unnamed cities are, where she used to live and where she’s living in the present. It sounds to me like the one in the past is probably central or southern California, which makes the present-day one maybe somewhere in New England?
I’m very curious about Lydia Davis and have her book “Varieties of Disturbance” to get to whenever I can. I think I might be best off reading her work as though it’s poetry or something close to poetry, rather than as fiction, since it seems like she writes in a very condensed, poetic style.
Oh dear, so many apps, too little time. And, I love love love that quote … the idea of the story staying in the room is too beautiful. I also like the way she makes a positive out of pages falling out of a book.
I love those chocolate books! White chocolate is not my favourite either but I might make an exception in this case.
Perhaps there are other things that could be used as stuffing, maybe something almond-based.
Seems like these book apps are going to be the coming book revolution. I don’t have an iPad, but have heard of how versatile they are, like The Waste Land app. So you think this is the trend from now until, oh, whenever… turning ebooks into iPad apps, interactive, audio/video features, supplementary materials… an enriching reading experience, don’t you think?
Stefanie, I LOVED that quote, so very easy to visualize as well.
Terrific quote!
Your mention of the Hitchhiker’s Guide is so coincidental with the fact that my Supervisor at work gave me a copy of this book and told me I MUST read it — it is right now sitting in my locker and I haven’t looked into the thing yet.
Secondly, just today a friend of mine told me that he is currently reading through the whole series, he’s on the first book now. Maybe these are all signs that I should stick out my thumb and hop aboard when the next spaceship arrives!
Grad, glad you liked it. It is such a lovely image. I like to think of my books whispering to each other on the shelves but hadn’t thought of the story from an open book floating around the room.
Emily, I was wondering if she’d be able to pull off a novel too but she is doing quite well. It’s funny, I am distracted by the same thing! I keep trying to figure out where in California, Santa Barbara maybe but then it seems she’d even further south like La Jolla or Oceanside or any number of little towns on the coast just north of San Diego. Her location in the east I suspect is somewhere in New England as well but I didn’t grow up there so I’m not trying as hard to figure out what city.
Dorothy, I have Varieties of Disturbance too and am looking forward to reading it even more now after reading the novel. She’s a very good writer and she does read a bit like poetry sometimes.
whisperinggums, I admit I thought of you when I saw the Hitchhiker’s app but I don’t know if you are a fan. Davis’s is a striking and beautiful image. And yeah, I like how the falling apart book is made into a positive thing too but I couldn’t help but be glad it wasn’t my book falling apart!
Sylvia, aren’t the little books great? Oh, yes, maybe marzipan? That’s vegan I think.
Arti, I think you are right about the trend. There are a few publishers like Melville House that are jumping on the enhanced book bandwagon.
Diane, glad you liked the quote!
Cipriano, glad you liked the quote. As to the Hitchhiker’s Guide, you really do need to read it. Don’t let it sit in your work locker too long!
I bought this when you first mentioned you were going to read it–now I am not quite in the right frame of mind to read it, but I love the quote. I’ll save it for later and watch for your thoughts on it.
Danielle, it is a good book but very metafictional which does require a certain mood to not be annoying.
Oh, oh, oh. Now, I can’t wait to get home and check out more details about this app. The link says it’s coming in fall. I wonder when exactly…