Unlikely book links
" I often find links between books I read, sometimes matching up the most unlikely of books. This time I found something in common between Peter Matthiesen's "In Paradise," and Alexander McCall Smith's "The Revolving Door of Life." Such unlikely companions: "In Paradise" is a somber, psychological book about a reunion of people from diverse backgrounds reuniting at Auschwitz in 1996. "The Revolving Door of Life" is a light, often hilarious read about residents in an Edinburgh neighborhood.
What could they possibly have in common? In both novels, characters experienced a mystical, unexplainable, unexpected experience. In "In Paradise," it happened with a spontaneous linking of hands and a 'dance' at the prison camp. In "The Revolving Door. . .", Angus Lordie is at a dinner party and looks out the window onto the sunset-lit skyline of Edinburgh and suddenly feels at one with humanity. His wife Domenica's explanation illuminates both experiences: ". . . a vision of agape, that pure disinterested love of one's fellow man that so many of us would love to find, but never do." (less) "
What could they possibly have in common? In both novels, characters experienced a mystical, unexplainable, unexpected experience. In "In Paradise," it happened with a spontaneous linking of hands and a 'dance' at the prison camp. In "The Revolving Door. . .", Angus Lordie is at a dinner party and looks out the window onto the sunset-lit skyline of Edinburgh and suddenly feels at one with humanity. His wife Domenica's explanation illuminates both experiences: ". . . a vision of agape, that pure disinterested love of one's fellow man that so many of us would love to find, but never do." (less) "
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Sheila
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Jun 07, 2016 07:32PM
I often find unlikely links too - part of the fun of reading too many books at once, perhaps - except, of course, one can never read too many books.
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I've noticed this without really "noticing" it - more a passing thought than a strong reflection as you've described here. The books sound interesting too.
