saki

I was so happy to find this film, I just love Saki (H. H. Munro). The first thing I’m going to do with my new time machine is prevent him from returning to the front (he signed on as a foot soldier in the ‘Great War’ in his 40′s, and kept going back to fight even when considered too sick or injured to do so), and give him a long-lifetime supply of pens and ink.

I enjoyed hearing ‘The Open Window’ read on National Public Radio‘s ‘Selected Shorts’ years ago, it was a good pick for a short film. The Reginald stories are so incredibly funny, I wish someone would make some of them into a movie. Starring Johnny Depp. Somebody call him, quick!

…

Waldo is one of those people who would be enormously improved by death.

• ‘The Feast of Nemesis’

Reginald sat in a corner of the Princess’s salon and tried to forgive the furniture, which started out with an obvious intention of being Louis Quinze, but relapsed at frequent intervals into Wilhelm II.

• ‘Reginald in Russia’

Reginald closed his eyes with the elaborate weariness of one who has rather nice eyelashes and thinks it useless to conceal the fact.

• ‘Reginald’s Drama’

Think how many blameless lives are brightened by the blazing indiscretions of other people.

• ‘Reginald at the Carlton’

Reginald in his wildest lapses into veracity never admits to being more than twenty-two.

• ‘Reginald’

We all know that Prime Ministers are wedded to the truth, but like other married couples they sometimes live apart.

• The Unbearable Bassington, ch. 13 (1912)

broken

Even though a huge variety of bits and pieces covers the shelves and fills the drawers of my workspace, of course this morning I needed something that was not here. And somehow whenever I have to run errands the whole day disappears. I hate that.

I’m listening to ‘People of the Book‘ while I work and the narrator, Edwina Wren, is fantastic. I love science and history (and books) in novels, and a map that reflects the story is always welcome, so I’m looking forward reading more of Geraldine Brooks’s work. A few dramatic bits in this narrative are predictable, which makes those parts slightly less enjoyable, but she carefully, casually puts in unusual details to make the different historical and geographical scenes distinct which make people's motivations clearer. The part that is playing now is painful, listening to wartime hardships and the awful choices people are forced to make is so difficult.

Another good, challenging story along those lines is ‘Still Life With Animated Dogs‘. Fierlinger tells his story in an unusual and effective way.

Although it was sad hearing that Studs Terkel died last week, it has been great listening to clips of his stories and interviews on NPR. What an interesting man - I love how open and aware he was, like in this StoryCorps recording. ‘Hard Times‘ was the first book of ‘oral’ histories I ever read, I loved it.