the tooth is out.
jasper/peter retells the monumentous event as such:
i was in the bath having a play bath and i was biting the bubbles as they floated away down the drain and all of a sudden my tooth was gone and i was very scared that i couldn't find it but all the blood was floating down the drain and then sebbie found the tooth and i was very happy.
the other day i started reading a great book, THE IMMORTAL LIFE OF HENRIETTA LACKS. i DON'T like how the author writes using what she deems to be the black voice/accent, but so far, the book is fascinating reading.
but just before i started the book i read an old childhood favourite, adrian mole. adrian was a big part of our growing up years, mum used to read the MOLE books aloud to us as we drove endless miles in the wood panelled station wagon, and we used to laugh at adrian's dense-ness (ie: when his dad's ex girlfriend comes to the door, open's her jacket and says to mr mole, "i just thought you should know." and adrian's only observation is, "she's put on some weight."). other things that made us laugh were things that we didn't know why they were funny, like the fact that only Mr Singh knew all the verses to patriotic songs.
Last week I wanted to be reminded of family vacations, so I pulled Adrian from the bookshelf and started reading. And I found that as an adult, this made for very sad reading. The neglect that Adrian endured was heart rending. It just seemed like no one had a lot of time or love for this kid. There was a lot of pathos that I never picked up in the first books.
I never cared for Adrian Mole, the Cappucino Years books or the like. They never seemed too interesting or entertaining. The entertainment wasn't worth the depression I felt. I was always waiting for something good to happen to Adrian and that something never did. Or when it did, he didn't recognise it. Got a bit frustrating.
So what's the point in all of this? Nothing probably. It's just sad to see how a book you once really liked, is no longer a favourite.
Then there are books that you are supposed to like and don't. A great example of this is THE GREAT GATSBY. My husband loves this book. I read it 30 years ago and went, meh. I don't get it. I actually don't enjoy a lot of F Scott Fitzgerald's writing. WHen Charles and I were first dating in order to impress him I tried reading it again. With the same result. I DON"T GET IT.
And about five years ago our book club read THE GREAT GATSBY. And this time everyone said "What's the big deal." The Aussies asked if you had to be American to get it. I said I didn't know. But it gave me plenty to think about. Maybe you do. So what's Charles' excuse?
Adrian Mole and Jay Gatsby. One man I cared about so I stopped reading about him and the other I never cared about so I never really enjoyed reading about him.
