Read this. I’ve tried to keep a little bit of the story in the excerpt without detracting from the meat of what I’m getting at, because the character of the book is just so charming. That being said, don’t get distracted. Also, this quote is pulled from a couple of different sections of the book, so, again, don’t be bothered by the strangeness of the flow in the middle; the context of the first part makes the section that I’m really getting at more urgent. Side note: I’m starting from the very beginning of the book. (emphasis added)
—–[Begin excerpt]—————————————————–
“In the last quarter of the twentieth century, at a time when Western civilization was declining too rapidly for comfort and yet too slowly to be very exciting, much of the world sat on the edge of an increasingly expensive theater seat, waiting–with various combinations of dread, hope, and ennui–for something momentous to occur.
“Something momentous was bound to happen soon. The entire collective consciousness could not be wrong about that. But what would it be? And would it be apocalyptic or rejuvenating? A cure for cancer or a nuclear bang?
“Five of the era’s best known psychics, meeting at the Chelsea Hotel, predicted that Atlantis would soon reemerge from the depths.
“To this last, Princess Leigh-Cheri responded, “There are two lost continents. … Hawaii was one … We are one: the lovers.
“In whatever esteem one might hold Princess Leigh-Cheri’s thoughts concerning matters geographic, one must agree that the last quarter of the twentieth century was a severe period for lovers. It was a time when women open resented men, a time when men felt betrayed by women, a time when romantic relationships took on the character of ice in spring, stranding many little children on jagged and inhospitable floes.
Nobody quite knew what to make of the moon any more.
“‘Does the moon have a purpose?’ she inquired of Prince Charming.
Prince Charming pretended she had asked a silly question. Perhaps she had.
Albert Camus wrote that the only serious question is whether to kill yourself or not.
Tom Robbins wrote that the only serious question is whether time has a beginning and an end.
Camus clearly got up on the wrong side of the bed, and Robbins must have forgotten to set the alarm.
“There is only one serious question. And that is:
Who knows how to make love stay?
“Answer me that and I will tell you whether or not to kill yourself.
Answer me that and I will ease your mind regarding the beginning and end of time.
Answer me that and I will reveal to you the purpose of the moon.
—-[End excerpt]——————————————————
“How to make love stay?” Do we have to solve this problem? I feel like people have almost stopped even asking the question and just accepting the ebb and flow of these emotions/multiple relationships as inevitable. Not everyone, but as a culture, if there is such a conglomerate that one can make such generalizations about. Can we start asking this question again? Perhaps with some urgency? I think the answer is somehow tied up in a shift away from individualism. I think I’d be okay with that.
Post a Comment