Wednesday, September 10, 2014

Book Notes: The Secret Life of Objects

by Dawn Raffel

Okay, so I only read a few pages of this one. I like the thought but not the execution. She wrote down her memories of different objects, but in general, I couldn't relate to her stories. I did, however, find two quotes that I liked:

"All memoir is fiction. We try to fit the pieces together again."

"Sometimes things shatter. More often they fade." (on wineglasses and friendships)

I have long pondered about friendships. There seems to be a frequency of interaction needed to sustain them that is not easily provided in the adult world. In high school or college, you are thrown together with the same bunch of people repeatedly. There is time to build up from general knowledge to intimacy, even if you would not have chosen them in the first place as friends. As adults, we have more choice and less time. At the end of the day, few people stay within reach.

I wrote this draft on 11/16/13, and just today read a post with similar ideas about the "Time/Depth Dilemma," a fascinating look at different cultural ways of making friends.

No comments:

Post a Comment