Sitting in the dark, baby, it's an art

[sovay]

Earlier this evening spatch informed me of the tradition of drinking a health to Tolkien on his birthday, so we toasted the Professor with elderflower tonic water, which seemed like something that hobbits will like when they get around to inventing cocktail culture.

Autolycus remains a beautiful cat, stronger than his failing body. He purrs so loudly that he can be heard over the phone even when he's not specifically on the call. I woke this morning to find him lying in my arms like a kitten nestled into a mama cat. Things mostly are cat hospice around here. As long as he wants it, we are supporting him. In the meantime we reassure Hestia of how loved she is even as everyone's schedules go to hell.

I understand that the film version of Russell Hoban's Turtle Diary (1975) is highly regarded and it does have a terrific cast, but when one of the novel's protagonists is described by the other as a "tall hopeless-looking man with an attentive face and an air of fragile precision like a folding rule made of ivory," I can't help wishing it had been filmed in a year when Bill Nighy would have been a shoo-in for the part.

I am having a lot of trouble acclimating to the year.

Comments

[kore]

I was deeply, deeply annoyed by that intro because (I assume) in order to sound "hip" (or, as grandma used to say, hep) he threw in references to Nicholson Baker and J.G. Ballard and Gillian Flynn and, no kidding, Eminem's "Stan" in a way that made absolutely no sense and was not necessary at all. And the urgent sleeve-pulling "Don't shut this cover yet! I'm going to make you need this story!" and also "Riddley Walker is generally considered his masterpiece" (oh fuck off) (and, oh yes, there's the reference to Clockwork Orange, like, well, clockwork) and "loaded with enough precision-cut lines to fuel your Twitter feed for a month" --

-- I mean, just, why. And is it me or does nearly every critic seem to miss that William and Neara want to free the turtles because they are trapped? The first line of the book is "I don't want to go to the zoo anymore," and yes human loneliness, yes thwarted almost-romance, but there's a whole lot about nature and humanity despoiling it and suicidal depression. "Aww, it's like Eleanor Rigby." Well not quite.

Anyway.