Sometimes, oftentimes in fact, I ask myself, “HOW is it that you are STILL alive?”
It’s a puzzle, to be sure.
Today’s Post Toasties:
- DKT Reading #2
- Review of The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time
- Review of R is for Rocket
- A puzzling Christmas gift…
KEVIN POLMAN’S SECOND READING AT DOROTHY’S
I read. I read a chapter. I read a chapter from my second novel. (It will be published in late spring of 2017.)
“…it wasn’t until we were out of the mountains in late spring, and back in Paris, that the other thing started again.” — Ernie H.
I read a chapter from my second novel during Storytelling Night at Dorothy’s Kitchen Table (dorothyskitchentable.com) in Denton on Friday, December 2. The material included three slices of a young man’s life as interpreted in the context of his habitual riding of bicycles and… his mental instability. Characters introduced in the reading included well meaning, yet misguided, parents, and their son, a young man lucky and blessed to survive the foolishness of the risks of youth.
DKT was gracious in making me the “star” of the evening, but many other storytellers contributed significantly to the event. As the night progressed, stories — both fiction and true — were presented by children and adults, and included:
- Children’s tales about forgetfulness, misunderstood and overzealous monsters, and boys and their dogs
- Nature poetry, and tragic biography about deaths of cherished friends
- An essay about memories and values — those that we inherit from others, and those that we pass on
- A testimonial from a dedicated teacher whose patience changed the life of a child many people would have abandoned
- Musical stories about fishing for crawdads and winds called Mariah and the restoring and exhilarating power of imagination
In true Dorothy’s style, each storyteller was encouraged and cheered. Everyone who came by the restaurant that evening was served and fed well with great food and a warm, homey ambience.
How could an author ask for a better reading venue?
AN IMPORTANT AND CAPTIVATING WORK
The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time, by Mark Haddon, is a well-written book that allows readers sight through the eyes and insight from the mind of an autistic teenager. Haddon’s book should be required material for all people old enough to read it — an intelligent middle schooler would understand and enjoy it, but it is equally suitable for adults — to provide a practical understanding of autism and to prevent the unnecessary abuse of individuals who are trapped in it.
The novel’s title — taken from Sherlock Holmes literature — suggests humor and whimsy, but little of The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time is humorous or whimsical, although there are passages that arouse chuckles of frustration… at the tricks life plays. By and large, this is a tale of realistic suspense; the last half is authentically and teeth-grittingly so. Readers are inclined to worry about the all-too-real challenges main character Christopher faces. One wonders, “Will he make it?”
Mark Haddon’s prose is generally excellent, with good flow and intelligent progression. Here is a sample from the first third of the book:
“My memory is like a film. That is why I am really good at remembering things, like the conversations I have written down in this book, and what people were wearing, and what they smelled like, because my memory has a smelltrack which is like a soundtrack.”
Another sample from the middle third:
“And I went up the stairs and I saw a sign saying <—Platform 1 and the <— was pointing at a glass door so I went through it, and someone bumped into me again with a suitcase and I made another noise like a dog barking and they said, ‘Watch the hell where you’re going’…”
The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time entertained my book-reading sensibilities AND educated my social consciousness to the plight of autistic and Asperger syndrome afflicted humans in a society that is largely indifferent… and often unkind… to imperfection.
Imperfection. What is that, anyway?
Here’s a link to the review as seen at Goodreads:
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/1792173230
DREAMERS! BE ENCOURAGED. YOU ARE UNDERSTOOD.
Ray Bradbury’s R is for Rocket is a book about and for dreamers… and those who truly desire to understand them. A common character type in his work is the wide-eyed, yearning dreamer who reaches too high, often for a dream beyond his capacity, and who inevitably teeters on the brink of success and failure.
It’s no surprise that Bradbury produced so many pieces that gave voice to themes of blue skies since he himself was a dreamer, a voracious reader and enthusiastic writer from an early age, a man who thrilled himself (and his fortunate readers) on the wild imaginings of his literary soul.
In R is for Rocket, the story “The Rocket” is an excellent example of the author’s heartfelt kindness and sympathy for — and identification with — the hopes and heartaches of a dreamer, in this case one Fiorello Bodoni, a middle-aged, married-with-many-children man obsessed with dreams of rocket travel and space exploration in the face of those who are quick to discourage him.
Excerpts from the story:
“I will ride up in one someday,” said Bodoni.
“Fool!” cried Bramante. “You’ll never go. This is a rich man’s world.” … “No! We live in shacks like our ancestors before us.”
“Perhaps my sons—” said Bodoni.
“No, nor their sons!” the old man shouted. “It’s the rich who have dreams and rockets!” … “No, Bodoni, buy a new wrecking machine, which you need, and pull your dreams apart with it, and smash them to pieces.”
The old man subsided, gazing at the river in which, drowned, images of rockets burned down the sky.
“Good night,” said Bodoni.
“Sleep well,” said the other.
I have read and loved Ray Bradbury’s stories for over forty years because his prose is beautifully delivered and because, as a dreamer myself — who often reaches too high for his own good — I identify deeply with his wonderfully tragic heroes. There were many times that his captivating tales allowed me to escape from grim childhood days and nights, and for that I say to him, now in the Great Beyond for Great Writers: “Thank you!”
Here’s the link to the Goodreads review:
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/1832568945
I, PUZZLER
I like puzzles — solving them and… making them. As my students (from many years of teaching) know all too well — the weirder the Polman puzzle, the better!
I give you on this day, dear reader of the kevinpolman blog, an early Christmas gift: a Polman original. Enjoy!
The Puzzle
First, the answer (actually, Answer # 1): e1w k2lr5e. That’s right! It’s encoded. (Ha, ha, ha.)
Now the question (Question # 1, that is): anim retahccar 154 how ni si tiehafhern het? That’s right! It’s NOT encoded, but each word IS scrambled, AND the word order must be restored to form the original question. (Hee, hee, hee.)
Now, Question #2: Give the first name of [Answer #1]’s “poor, poor” wife.
The solution to the whole shebang is the answer to Question #2, but here’s the catch — There’s always a catch, right? That’s what makes life interesting — Answer #2 must be encoded in the same code originally used to produce Answer #1. (Ho, ho, ho.)
Have a hoot, you insane, code-cracking unscramblers!
[I’ll put the solution in “About Kevin” next week.]
Merry Christmas!
kevinpolman 