Books

     The third book in Anthony Trollope's Barchester Towers, series, Doctor Thorne, moves away from focus on the lives of clergy in the Church Of England. This book could be characterized as a love story as in "can an impoverished, blooded, member of the aristocracy marry someone of a lower class and find acceptance?"  Trollope's answer is "Yes, if the commoner has wealth," wink, wink. It's a light hearted tweak of aristocratic pretensions.
     While the book is not bursting with action it is filled with wry insights into the human condition. Trollope continues his play with appropriate names. Attorneys play their part in the story and ones who take their time work for the firm of  'Slow  &  Bideawhile.'  Others are named Abraham Haphazard, Sir. Ricky Giggs, and Neversaye Die. Such names are indicative of Trollope's droll sense of humor which occasionally makes me laugh out loud.
       Of very different genre is Bruce Chatwin's The Songlines. Ostensibly the books sets out as Chatwin's Australian  travelogue with the aboriginals. The flyleaf says "Part adventure story, part philosophical essay, this extraordinary book takes Chatwin into the heart of Australia on a search for the source of man's restless nature."  Chapters in the book are notes from his various travels and are at least as interesting as his Australian experiences. He believe humans are made to wander and when they become sedentary, settling in to farming and cities, they become corrupt. In his view nomads have a corner on virtue. This, of course is the tension in the Hebrew Bible between the virtue of following one's flock VS the lure of settlement. Can the God of the wilderness still reign in the fields and vineyards of settlement?"  Songlines is a very interesting read.

    While I was in a corn field this morning I saw triplets! It's the first time ever I've seen triplet fawns. A few days ago I saw twins but now triplets. They are young enough to still have mottled coats. How fun!

Takk for alt,

Al