1.24.2013

the moving words of nicole krauss.




The weak yellow light of lamps during the dusk of two in the morning has seen me awake, reading "just one more" chapter of this book. I can hardly stand the thought of it ending, and so I go back, I read again, I mull on the words much like I imagine a philosopher would, but in the end, it's the honesty that gets me every time. Six books hold the only pages I've cried in, and while I'm only halfway through this one, I've already cried twice. There's a bittersweetness to Nicole Krauss' words, an intrinsic poignancy, and a heartbreakingly beautiful depth. I cannot recommend it more. And while it's out of context (it's on page 38 of my copy), this is one of the paragraphs that felt like home and goodbyes and the last morning in a place you love, all at once.

7. There is a photograph of my mother than no one has ever seen.

In the fall, my mother went back to England to start university. Her pockets were full of sand from the lowest place on earth. She weighed 104 pounds. There's a story she sometimes tells about the train ride from Paddington Station to Oxford when she met a photographer who was almost completely blind. He wore dark sunglasses, and said he'd damaged his retinas a decade ago on a trip to Antarctica. His suit was perfectly pressed, and he held his camera in his lap. He said he saw the world differently now, and it wasn't necessarily bad. He asked if he could take a picture of her. When he raised up the lens and looked through it, my mother asked what he saw. "The same thing I always see," he said. "Which is?" "A blur," he said. "Then why do it?" she asked. "In case my eyes ever heal," he said. "So I'll know what I've been looking at."

nicole krauss, the history of love

xx h

24 comments:

  1. Oh my wow. She's pretty cool + these shots are mystical and I love them.

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  2. This is so cool! I love it! Great job, Hannah!

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  3. I hate how you guys play favorites among the authors of this site, it's so obvious who is more popular around here

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  4. Replies
    1. Says you, who is the new favorite around here. Where is Libby? And Kendall?

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    2. Hi Anonymous,

      I'm not exactly sure what you're getting at, but we staffers treat each other equally. There is no favoritism within the team and I apologize if it looks that way! There is no requirement or obligation for the staffers to comment on each others' posts. Personally, I'm quite terrible at commenting, so I seldom chime in, but that doesn't mean that there's any type of favoritism going on. :)

      Much love!
      Carlotta

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    3. In addition, there's no set rules for how many post we staffers can (or cannot) write per month -- it varies based on what our lives look at the beginning of each new month. so sometimes, one of us will write seven posts one month and another will write one (or none). we write whenever we can. :) also, Libby's computer died on her a few weeks ago, which is why it's been quieter lately. :)

      hope you have a wonderful day! xx,
      h

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    4. lillian, you are genius: "chills."

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    5. Oh, and also, after I sent that, I thought maybe you thought I was telling you to chill, I wasn't ;) I was saying that I got chills when I read the words of Nicole Krauss. :)

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  5. Coincidentally enough, I had jotted 'History Of Love' onto a to-read list just a couple of hours before reading this. I know which book I'm headed for the moment I get to the library.

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  6. Love the paragraph from the book you posted! :) Off to check out more from it, thanks for posting about it.

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  7. ohwow. just got goosebumps. i need to add that to my list of books to read in 2013

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  8. I just placed a hold on that book from my library. Love the pictures as usual and YOUR words even more!

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  9. Ah, this gave me chills. I just picked up The History of Love from the library for a re-read, as well as Man Walks Into a Room. Her words are just so rich with life. x

    ( the alcove )

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  10. I love this post, it's so simple and beautiful :)

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  11. This is so touching. Why is this so beautiful and yet so sad at the same time?

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  12. breathtaking. it's now on my to-read list for sure! :)

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  13. those words are beautiful... i've never read that, but i must add it to my ever growing "to read" list. ;) also, loving those shots, dear! especially the 2nd one. ;)

    xo

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  14. oh my, this is definitely on my must-read list. captivating.

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  16. that sounds like such a great book!
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  17. I read this book this past fall after reading a different blog post about how amazing it was. And while I do agree that some parts were so poetic and pretty (my favorite: her laughter was a question he wanted to spend his whole life answering.), but overall, I really didn't like it. Is that horrible?? I just thought the characters were so unlovable and the ending is super confusing...maybe I need to give it a second try sometime, everyone seems to love it so much!

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