8.a.m.
Book group is in twelve hours.
The book is Christos Tsiolkas's Damascus.The book is 414 pages long.
I am sitting on page 285.
I've yet to not finish a book group book - and I am greatly appreciating this one - probably much to the disdain of the rest of the book group who appear to have hated it.
I have a day of meetings as well - not even a lunch break is scheduled. Lunch will be grabbed between calls, probably between the unveiling of the Kanban board and the Repository re-architecture meeting. Or maybe before we get into another three hour redrafting meeting. Welcome to my life.
There is also a needy cat, who needs to be tended to with the laser pointer and the stick and ribbons - because I'll end up flayed if I don't pay him a modicum of attention.
I also have a writing session at 6.30 - which I would like to attend as I've got 2000 new words to get to my new tutor on Saturday as well as a Varuna application to submit (pipe dream there)
So that is my day.
First things first. Lets don the mask, run down the street and get a coffee. I'm going to need this. And find some sneaky writing time.
I'll update this through the day.
10 a.m.
Page 318. Managed 20 pages while waiting to speak to somebody. Damascus is a fantastic book, but it certainly isn't going to be everybody's cup of tea. It takes a look at the very beginnings of Christianity, when he apostles were wandering the Middle East spreading the world and getting themselves killed, tortured and exiled. I'm grateful for a base knowledge of the starts of Christianity and know where some of Tsiolkas's rage comes from. I love how many the apostles meet refer to Christianity as a death cult - puts things in perspective.
2 p.m.
Page 350. Have had a reasonably productive day at work, but got to read for half an hour at lunch. I'm nearing the end. The book is unrelenting both in scene, theme and message. What gets me is it really demonstrating some of the dreadful synchronicities which religions through the ages, where the belief in one god, or set of gods can put you in peril. In this case, a refugee, a child, a new found Christian boy runs foul of the local priestess after he desecrates a statue. Tsiolkas is in his blood-soaked element here, but he makes a crafty point. In this new found religion, the converted find themselves persecuted. Just think of how Christianity has in turn persecuted millions over the years, the lives that have been lost for those recognising the religion (think of the Spanish Inquisition, the Witch Trials...) It really does put some things in a terrible perspective.
Tsiolkas writes of a brutal world. Has much changed?
5 p.m.
Page 467. I should get this read by 8 p.m. 50 pages to go. It looks like Timothy is coming to the end of his life. I'm a bit mystified as to how much of the New Testament I've taken in - and sure I know about some of the apocryphal texts, when I was doing some referencing on Wikipedia, just to sure up some knowledge.
It's also reinforcing my belief that Christianity is fraught, a bit silly and I did a good thing in handing in my Christian ticket thirty years ago.
6.30 p.m.
I did it. Finished. I'm probably going to be the odd man out at book group, but I loved it. Yes, it was hard, almost unreadably harsh in places - torture, cruxifictions, rapes, horrendous treatment of many people, but this is a writer's book. One of my class mates said read the Author's notes first - it was a good tip. Tsiolkas is incredible. This is an important book. It's an easy read, yet an incredibly hard read. I liked this more than I liked The Slap. It reminded me of Dead Europe. I do like a book which makes me think - and this got me really using my noggin. Also, I found myself looking up a heap of things - mainly the who's who in the zoo of the book.
Is this for everybody - hell's no. But I'm going to be one of a few of the group to say they appreciated the book.
Today's Song:
Book group is in twelve hours.
The book is Christos Tsiolkas's Damascus.The book is 414 pages long.
I am sitting on page 285.
I've yet to not finish a book group book - and I am greatly appreciating this one - probably much to the disdain of the rest of the book group who appear to have hated it.
I have a day of meetings as well - not even a lunch break is scheduled. Lunch will be grabbed between calls, probably between the unveiling of the Kanban board and the Repository re-architecture meeting. Or maybe before we get into another three hour redrafting meeting. Welcome to my life.
There is also a needy cat, who needs to be tended to with the laser pointer and the stick and ribbons - because I'll end up flayed if I don't pay him a modicum of attention.
I also have a writing session at 6.30 - which I would like to attend as I've got 2000 new words to get to my new tutor on Saturday as well as a Varuna application to submit (pipe dream there)
So that is my day.
First things first. Lets don the mask, run down the street and get a coffee. I'm going to need this. And find some sneaky writing time.
I'll update this through the day.
10 a.m.
Page 318. Managed 20 pages while waiting to speak to somebody. Damascus is a fantastic book, but it certainly isn't going to be everybody's cup of tea. It takes a look at the very beginnings of Christianity, when he apostles were wandering the Middle East spreading the world and getting themselves killed, tortured and exiled. I'm grateful for a base knowledge of the starts of Christianity and know where some of Tsiolkas's rage comes from. I love how many the apostles meet refer to Christianity as a death cult - puts things in perspective.
2 p.m.
Page 350. Have had a reasonably productive day at work, but got to read for half an hour at lunch. I'm nearing the end. The book is unrelenting both in scene, theme and message. What gets me is it really demonstrating some of the dreadful synchronicities which religions through the ages, where the belief in one god, or set of gods can put you in peril. In this case, a refugee, a child, a new found Christian boy runs foul of the local priestess after he desecrates a statue. Tsiolkas is in his blood-soaked element here, but he makes a crafty point. In this new found religion, the converted find themselves persecuted. Just think of how Christianity has in turn persecuted millions over the years, the lives that have been lost for those recognising the religion (think of the Spanish Inquisition, the Witch Trials...) It really does put some things in a terrible perspective.
Tsiolkas writes of a brutal world. Has much changed?
5 p.m.
Page 467. I should get this read by 8 p.m. 50 pages to go. It looks like Timothy is coming to the end of his life. I'm a bit mystified as to how much of the New Testament I've taken in - and sure I know about some of the apocryphal texts, when I was doing some referencing on Wikipedia, just to sure up some knowledge.
It's also reinforcing my belief that Christianity is fraught, a bit silly and I did a good thing in handing in my Christian ticket thirty years ago.
6.30 p.m.
I did it. Finished. I'm probably going to be the odd man out at book group, but I loved it. Yes, it was hard, almost unreadably harsh in places - torture, cruxifictions, rapes, horrendous treatment of many people, but this is a writer's book. One of my class mates said read the Author's notes first - it was a good tip. Tsiolkas is incredible. This is an important book. It's an easy read, yet an incredibly hard read. I liked this more than I liked The Slap. It reminded me of Dead Europe. I do like a book which makes me think - and this got me really using my noggin. Also, I found myself looking up a heap of things - mainly the who's who in the zoo of the book.
Is this for everybody - hell's no. But I'm going to be one of a few of the group to say they appreciated the book.
Today's Song:
No comments:
Post a Comment