by beatriceotto | Jun 14, 2018 | a quote to note
Henry Williamson’s spare writing is single-point focussed on getting inside the mind and life of an otter, as nearly as a human can. He observed them in their natural context for years and his revisions to the draft were aimed solely at removing anything that...
by beatriceotto | Jun 14, 2018 | a quote to note
Henry Williamson’s slim study of otters is a masterpiece of limpid writing and of human empathy for other species. Through minute observation and honest intent, he has cleaved as closely as he can to conveying an authentic sense of what it might be like to live...
by beatriceotto | Jun 7, 2018 | a quote to note
Clarice and Cora are two halves of an insane echo-chamber – a pair of identical twins who need to get out more. They live in the south wing of a vast pile of masonry, drawing life force from the rankling resentment of apparently lost power. They are so batty...
by beatriceotto | Jun 7, 2018 | a quote to note
An intriguing view of happiness which would surely resonate with totalitarian regimes and dictatorial mindsets. In this case and on this occasion, Flay can tolerate the momentary happiness around him as it is triggered by an event – the birth of a male heir to...
by beatriceotto | May 31, 2018 | a quote to note
A surprising, refreshing view of God as one who forgives singers as sinners because he just loves their song. “Shrewd devil, you know very well that God pardons singers no matter what they do, because he can simply die for a song… ” Source: Nikos...
by beatriceotto | May 31, 2018 | a quote to note
This is a beautiful description of a moment of understanding or enlightenment. Wherever you are, and whatever you are grappling with, may you have moments when the world about you sweetens, grows circular and fills your grasp. And death vanishes into the bargain....
by beatriceotto | May 24, 2018 | a quote to note
When does a world disappear? When inequality goes too far. Inequality seems much in the news these days, an apparently growing bane regardless of how well people are doing at either end of whatever spectrum. This stark and extreme example sums up the iniquity of...
by beatriceotto | May 24, 2018 | a quote to note
Sooner or later, someone, somewhere will cry out against a wrong, no matter how small and despised their voice to begin with, nor how long they have tolerated it previously. This pithy assertion caught my attention just as three former Presidents – who once...
by beatriceotto | May 17, 2018 | a quote to note
This comes from Kazantzakis’s account of Jesus’ life and death, and I found the prayer he puts in Christ’s mind astonishing as he prepares for the coming crucifixion. What an original and touching test of endurance: the capacity to undergo...
