D.H. Lawrence, David Mamet, and Pankaj Mishra

I read voraciously last night and finished the book. Again, I do have to mention the artistry of the language; how well developed and employed it is! The complications that Lawrence introduces the reader to add so much to the plot. The return of Mellors' wife complicates things while Lady Chatterley is in Venice. One can feel her stress as she reads the letter from her husband explaining all the gossip. The subtle letter has a hint of malice, and the reader is compelled to side with Connie. For the Mellors part, one can only feel so much. The penultimate chapter is really an indictment to the rapidly expanding industrial complex, as it is the letter from him to Connie that ends the book. That was perhaps the only part of the book I really didn't enjoy much. Lawrence was indeed making a statement against some social injustice when he wrote about the colliers, the mines, the industry, etc. Somehow, however, it seemed rather forced in the latter stages of the story. I can truly say I enjoyed the book very much. It was a book that left me feeling so much love for literature. These are the strange moments when I feel gloriously alive in literature, wanting to devour all I can and get lost in all the emotions and feelings. I want to live the life of the mind constantly and surrender to the words completely.

I began reading "Writing in Restaurants" by David Mamet. It is not at all a book about writing instruction, but rather a collection of dated essays (written in the mid-1980s) regarding the dramatic theater and other aspects of dramaturgy. I am only about 30 pages into it and it is rough going. Some parts are over theorized, I believe. Here's an example: "The pursuit of Fashion is the attempt of the middle class to co-opt tragedy." This is the first sentence of an essay I could hardly decipher. I am going to force myself to finish the book, although I would much rather be reading some thing else. Oh well... can't win them all.

I purchased "An End to Suffering: The Buddha in the World" by Pankaj Mischra. This is a book I am dying to read but it will have to wait until later on this year. He is also the author of "The Romantics," an incredibly under-rated novel that caught my attention in a newspaper review in 2000. Later in 2001, I got the book on the discount rack for $6.00. It was a tour de force as far as I am concerned, and one of the best books by contemporary authors I have read. So my reading list is getting larger by the week. I won't go over my yearly total, really; what with work and trying to write I may not have time for them all.

As an effort to clarify my ideas before I put them in the blog, I am going to start writing the entries on paper first and then typing them up. I have been typing them directly from my head to the computer and I miss the feel of the pen on the paper. For this purpose I have selected 3 Moleskine cahiers that I will be taking with me to work. I will write even if I only have 5 minutes to do so. I will not waste any time and will try to keep the ideas flowing. I will give this experiment this week.