I believe I have set a precedent this month. I have abandoned reading two books, which is exceedingly unlike me. I’m not sure where to locate the origin of this shocking behavior, though the fact that I’ve had the luxury to be picky during my gap year might be a contributing factor.
The first book I abandoned was The Soloist by Mark Salzman. A music teacher in his thirties, formerly a child prodigy, is summoned to jury duty at the same time that he acquires a new student. On page 156, this was all that had happened so far, and it had happened in the first three chapters. I decided to believe that the protagonist’s experiences helped him back into the concert hall, which was where he really wanted to be anyway. Perhaps it was a moving psychological study, but all it did for me was encourage me to move on.
The second book I abandoned was The Gospel of Judas by Simon Mawer. I was pleased to have found it at a nice used bookstore in my new town, because it came highly recommended by another author I like, Mary Doria Russell. However, it had a bit too much Catholicism and sex for my taste. The recent discovery of manuscripts predating all the other gospels was apparently a side note, though much advertised on the back cover. On page 75, the timelines were still too jumbled to justify so much repressed sexuality. Therefore I repressed the sexuality between the covers and returned the volume to the shelf.
I immediately dosed myself with some Jane Austen, but found to my horror that I had no copies of Sense and Sensibility, a discovery that drove me to the nearest bookstore with haste; and I am feeling much better now. Both Elinor and Marianne believe themselves divided from their dearest loves forever. One is wrong about being divided forever and the other is wrong about her dearest love. Thank the Lord for books we can never live without.
Mostly About Books 