I finished reading Ali Smith’s Autumn over the weekend. I enjoyed the book very much. It is a book that is full of thoughts and ideas but not a whole lot of story. But that’s ok by me. I will be doing a proper write up of the book in a day or two but today I have a quote that fits so perfectly with how I feel after a certain someone’s latest Twitter tirade that I had to share it.
I’m tired of the news. I’m tired of the way it makes things spectacular that aren’t, and deals so simplistically with what’s truly appalling. I’m tired of the vitriol, I’m tired of the anger. I’m tired of the meanness. I’m tired of the selfishness. I’m tired of how we’re doing nothing to stop it. I’m tired of how we’re encouraging it. I’m tired of the violence there is and I’m tired of the violence that’s on its way, that’s coming, that hasn’t happened yet. I’m tired of liars. I’m tired of sanctified liars. I’m tired of how those liars let this happen. I’m tired of having to wonder whether they did it out of stupidity or did it on purpose. I’m tired of lying governments. I’m tired of people not caring whether they’re being lied to any more. I’m tired of being made to feel this is fearful. I’m tired of animosity. I’m tired of pusillanimosity.
I don’t think that’s actually a word, Elisabeth says.
I’m tired of not knowing the right words, her mother says.
The book takes place in post-Brexit UK but it can also be applied to Trump USA and probably the elections going on in France and the Netherlands too. Thank goodness Canada is still sane. Stay strong up there, y’all are a bright spot in the world right now. And Australia. I think you’re doing ok too. And Mexico, you go! Keep standing up to the big bully.
Pusillanimosity is the greatest coined word ever. I love it. I am going to tell that to my dad, he will love it too; it so perfectly describes all my electeds. :p
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Jenny, it is a pretty awesome word, isn’t it? Use it well!
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Perfect! Such perfect description of our era…I agree! Hang in there Canada and Mexico!
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What a wonderful quote and so, so true. 24 hour television news must be one of the greatest blotches on human civilization and I know people who seem to be addicted to it!
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Ian, Smith nailed it with that passage. I must agree with you regarding the 24 hour news. I can understand people being addicted to it, the need to know or fear of missing something important, but most of the time it makes me want to move to the middle of nowhere and enjoy the golden silence.
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cirtnecce, it is one of those things you read in a book that gives you both pleasure and pain for the same reasons — because it is so very true.
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Mm, I like Ali Smith a lot – I should see if my library has this one.
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Heather, This is only the third book of hers I have read, but the more I read the more I like. Hope your library has it!
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Very apt. I’m tired of people mis-using language. Fake news has to be one of the most dangerous expressions doing the rounds right now.
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BookeTalk, ugh, the whole concept of fake news is so dangerous. And I don’t know about you, but we’ve got “alternative facts” here now too.
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This is the perfect selection to capture my mood for the past few months. Wow. Thanks for sharing!
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Laila, glad you liked it! I suspect there are a lot of us who feel this way!
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Great quote! I haven’t read her, but I keep thinking I should.
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Isabella, I think you would like here. Just don;t start with her Library Stories short story collection, go for a novel.
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That is a most perfect quote and thank you for sharing it since it pretty much applies to the way we live now. Sadly. I had this book on my desk at work and dipped into the first pages–I want to read it still, but I was sort of hoarding in anticipation for the Baileys list on which I thought it might end up. Since my reading plate is pretty darn full at the moment I have sent it back to the new books shelves for now to let some other reader enjoy it. I still have How to Be Both on my own home reading pile, so I guess I should start there….. I look forward to hearing more about it from you, though, as it had such an unusual structure and I was so curious about what sort of story it was going to turn out to be.
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Danielle, I loved this quote and there is another one that I debated using too but that might just show up when I write about the book. I don’t know if the quartet will have all the same characters, I am looking forward to finding out though! How to Be both was amazing! There is art in this book too. Do you know of Pauline Boty? I learned all about her in the book 🙂
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I went through a all-things-Ali a few years back, then lost track. This quote makes me want to run straight for them all! Thanks for the giggle – and the nodding in understanding – which proceeded throughout and then followed – the reading of it.
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Glad you liked it! I’m looking forward to seeing what she does with the remaining books in the quartet.
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I haven’t read this book but I’m going to copy that quote into my journal. It’s awesome so perfectly captures my feelings.
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Iliana, glad you liked it! The whole book is good too 🙂
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Wow, she’s up to date isn’t she? I love that quote. It reminded me of the session I went to last weekend with four women political journalists. I got to understand the pressures they are under. Two things I took away from it – one is the difficulty of being given (by their bosses in some cases) the mental space to write something that they feel is well-informed, and, related to this, the shift from focusing on what is important (easier to do in the days when the news was filed at the end of the day ready for the editor to choose and for the presses to run overnight) to, these days, what is new (which is what happens when you are being driven to file stories continuously.) No wonder the news is so frustratingly simplistic so much of the time.
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whisperinggums, Smith’s story is actually set in summer/autumn 2016 so very current! The internet has been a service and disservice to news, hasn’t it? I think in many ways we are still struggling to sort it out. It will be interesting to see what things are like in 10-20 years.
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