false http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1175587665m/533430.jpg 533430 3 In his essay "Maturity," Tim Parks, reflecting on that notoriously indecisive prince of Denmark, suggests that Hamlet's problem was "not cowardice, or even thinking too much, but rather that thought is his chief pleasure." Indeed, Parks continues, "It is perhaps this that our culture will have no truck with, the idea that the greatest pleasure might come, not from consumption, or action, or doing good or passion, but merely, wonderfully, from the mind's play with itself." Our culture may not appreciate the mind at play, but Tim Parks most definitely does. In <I>Adultery and Other Diversions</I>, he gives his own intellect free rein to cartwheel and skylark among a variety of subjects from the dangerous allure of adultery to the creative power of rancor.<p> With each essay, Parks begins by grounding himself and the reader in a concrete experience--a bus ride across Europe, for instance, or cleaning his daughter's room, or translating an Italian novel into English--then lets his mind loose to joyously observe, reflect, and comment on what it all means. In "Glory," for example, Parks recounts an arduous hike through the Italian Alps with his two young children and a family friend. Descriptions of the difficult terrain, his own complicated feelings about climbing a particular peak, his friend's preoccupation with the Tour de France, his children's games--all dovetail gracefully to arrive, eventually, at his real point, the <I>nature</I> of their endeavor: <blockquote>Being an entirely mental quality, surfacing in nothing more concrete than a word, glory tends to be belittled, or viewed with some embarrassment in a world where technique and her accomplice, information, are assumed to hold sway.... And yet despite her new boots--Gore-Tex lined--and all the chocolate and mineral drinks, the creams for sores and plasters for blisters, young Stefi, I know, would never have climbed Monte Maggio on that third day had it not been for the flavour of certain words--Crest-Strider, Peak-Dancer.</blockquote> Whether he is discussing the Dionysian nature of affairs, or drawing parallels between the society Plato commented on in his <i>Republic</i> and our own, Parks does so with wit, elegance, and the kind of unself-conscious grace that a natural athlete brings to the game. <I>Adultery and Other Diversions</I> is a delight to read, and even better to think about afterwards--exactly the sort of book a certain prince of Denmark would have loved. <I>--Alix Wilber</I> 1543246 1999 Adultery and Other Diversions total:11|5:3|4:2|3:3|2:2|1:1| 11 37 15 1 4 1 false false Mon Dec 01 00:00:00 -0800 2008 Thu Dec 11 10:08:05 -0800 2008 Thu Dec 11 10:14:44 -0800 2008 more...]]> 3 0 false false Sun Sep 27 05:40:05 -0700 2009 Sun Sep 27 05:40:05 -0700 2009 3 0 false false Sat May 09 10:09:37 -0700 2009 Sat May 09 10:09:37 -0700 2009 4 0 false false Fri Apr 10 09:30:38 -0700 2009 Fri Apr 10 09:30:38 -0700 2009 3 0 false false Sun Jul 01 00:00:00 -0700 2001 Sat Feb 21 19:30:18 -0800 2009 Sat Feb 21 19:31:16 -0800 2009 2 0 false false Sun Dec 21 00:00:00 -0800 2008 Thu Jan 15 12:32:14 -0800 2009 Thu Sep 10 20:27:35 -0700 2009 0 0 false false Sun Jan 11 08:57:02 -0800 2009 Sun Jan 11 08:57:02 -0800 2009 0 0 false false Wed Oct 29 06:23:04 -0700 2008 Wed Oct 29 06:23:04 -0700 2008 0 0 false false Tue Sep 30 09:55:59 -0700 2008 Thu Jan 22 05:01:16 -0800 2009 0 0 false false Mon Jun 23 09:48:45 -0700 2008 Mon Jun 23 09:48:45 -0700 2008 5 0 false false Sat Apr 19 06:41:56 -0700 2008 Sat Apr 19 06:41:56 -0700 2008 1 0 false false Sun Jan 06 10:46:48 -0800 2008 Sun Jan 06 10:46:48 -0800 2008 2 0 false false Sat Dec 15 11:52:50 -0800 2007 Sat Dec 15 11:52:50 -0800 2007 5 0 false false Fri Aug 31 10:33:20 -0700 2007 Fri Aug 31 10:33:20 -0700 2007 5 0 false false Tue Jul 24 13:10:42 -0700 2007 Tue Jul 24 13:10:42 -0700 2007 http://www.goodreads.com/book_link/follow/8?book_id=533430