2January2009

The Sailor From Gibraltar

Posted by Sara under: Reviews; Book Challenges.

by Marguertie Duras

If I was asked to list the most famous French novelists from the 1900’s on, Duras would probably be one of the first handful that I name. I’ve never actually read Duras, however, mostly because her books have never been thrown my way by a recommending friend or bookseller. The Sailor from Gibraltar is one of her earliest works and not one of her most famous, nor supposedly one of her bests. If that’s the case, I must read her better work because I absolutely loved this book.

It is an airy book. There are no “issues”– no politics or battles or tragedy. Instead the focus is on simpler, more ethereal elements like forgetting, love, boredom, internality. The simplicity is evident in any plot summary. A man quits his boring desk job to join a woman who sails around the Mediterranean on her yacht, looking for a lost love. It’s not a travel narrative, though. Most of the novel takes place on the yacht deck or in hotel cafeterias, the narrator trying to avoid the uniqueness of different locales and simply relax with a glass of wine. Nor is it a “sea novel.” There is no focus on rigging, etc. The sailors don’t do very much sailing; they lounge, drink, talk and make love (subtly. Everything takes place behind the scenes and between lines of dialogue. You have to pay careful attention to see who leaves whose bedroom in the morning to imagine that anything has ever happened.) No, there’s no ropes, cables, hulls, keels, etc, at least except in passing. Instead the sea contributes its calmness. Its idleness. The sea never DOES anything, yet it’s always there, its sheer constancy is what influences us, its tides, currents, weather.

The narrator learns to mimic the sea in this way. At first he is typically unsympathetic; he is sometimes cruel, drunk, listless. His strength that ultimately saves him is his ability, like the sea, to simply be. He waits, sits, forgives, has patience to challenge a saint’s. He taught me how to do the same. I read it over the holiday break, during which time I had very little to do and worried about all of the time that I was ‘wasting.’ In the novel the narrator tells his impatient girlfriend, “You have to waste a bit of time, otherwise you waste it all.” I needed to hear that as well as she did.

A summer book released in the midst of winter. While we are confined by snow drifts, the narrator is confined by unbearable heat. While we here in the Pacific Northwest are trapped in our homes, waiting for the roads to clear so that we can return to work, the crew are confined to their yacht, addicted to the endless search for the sailor from Gibraltar. Strangely appropriate for the season, and exactly what I needed to read this week.

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21December2008

Sad Day / Best of…

Posted by Sara under: My drama.

I had two rejections today, both for mundane, silly things, but I am feeling low nonetheless. Decided to cheer up a bit by listing great things from this past year and things that I’m looking forward to next year.

2008:

The Black Keys. Suddenly a band appeared out of nowhere playing just the kind of music that I’ve been especially loving recently. I’ve missed my chance to see them live, but hopefully 2009 will bring a new opportunity.

New friends. New friends bring new anxieties as well, (which rear their heads on days like today), but overall my year has been positive, socially.

Renewed enthusiasm. I suddenly became interested in life again in a way I probably haven’t been since high school. I guess the situations are similar: I’m economically stable but not commited to anything. Everything is possible once again, and I’ve decided to attempt it all.

2009:

A continuation of some of my projects. I started so many things in 2008; I WILL finish at least one of them.

More shows. Joe doesn’t like to go see live music, I do, we argue, we stay home. Recently we made peace and I will be seeing more shows (guilt free!) this upcoming year. I’m going to skip Devotchka next weekend because it’ll be too expensive and crowded, but hope to see Heroes and Villains.

My Open Letter subscription. I received the first book from gift subscription today.  I haven’t started to read it yet, but The Sailor From Gibraltar is such a beautiful physical object. I love receiving books in the mail; they haven’t been fingered by bookstore employees and browsers yet. They are perfectly flat and firm, the binding tight. You feel as if you are the first person to read not just this copy, but the entire novel. When I opened the cover and saw that the inside cover was a chalky red, I was charmed. Knowing that this is but one of many to come gives me a little bit of happiness to look forward to every month.

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10December2008

Best Book Title EVER

Posted by Sara under: Uncategorized.

Salmonella Men from Planet Porno by Yasutaka Tsutsui is a collection of absurd short stories that happens to possess the most interesting title ever. The titular story is about “just how obscenely absurd the environment on Planet Porno can seem to a group of hapless research scientists.” “The Dabba Dabba Tree” sounds interesting as well, about “a small conical tree that, when placed at the foot of one’s bed, creates erotic dreams”. My friends and I have been talking about choosing quirky, short works to leave beside the toilet, and I think this falls into that category.

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