Nearing the End of the Novel: Reflecting on Breathing Loss and Wonder
“There’s history that your read in books, and history that you carry in your bones. ”
Bout de la jetée à Honfleur (End of the Pier at Honfleur), 1886, Georges Seurat - Kröller-Müller Museum, Otterlo, Netherlands - As Dolli observes in my book, waves are a recurrent theme in my book. I grew up amongst the Great Lakes and the presence of these bodies of water and the sailboats upon them also play a part in my narrative.
Un homme appuyé sur un parapet (A man leaning on a parapet), 1881, Georges Seurat, Private Collection - In the episode, Dolli remarks that Jascha is a lost man, lost in time and wonder. For his character, I reflected on myself, an immigrant in another country as well as the experiences of my father, grandfather and those souls living in the multi-cultural neighbourhood of my childhood.
I have been working on a novel, Breathing Loss and Wonder, since 2014 and it is nearing completion.
In this episode, Dolli provides some feedback after reading my book and we discuss the ideas and the inspiration behind certain scenes.
Writing is about finding the right details to express a story and I share key insights while she reads from her favourite passage in my opus.
Are you, dear listener, writing a book or are you engaged in reading a great novel? You may want to check out this episode.
I had already spent years wondering about the space dividing our everyday life from the world of our poetry, whose austere grace had often enlightened us at the most unexpected moments.
Józef Czapski
“One’s greatest solace in a foreign land is to have someone who carries one’s thoughts back to the homeland every time one looks at him, talks to him or listens to his words.”
Honfleur, un soir, embouchure de la Seine (Honfleur, evening, mouth of the Seine), 1886, Georges Seurat - Museum of Modern Art, New York - Impressionist art has always been an inspiration. This painting from Seurat continually reminds me of the lakeside scenes from my native Niagara as well as the nocturnal music of Chopin, another influence in my book.
Lake Ontario, 2009 - photo care of the author - At Port Dalhousie’s Lakeside Park (made famous by the Canadian rock band, Rush), such scenes are familiar to me and my characters. The lake itself felt like a great sea, its emptiness and vastness both welcoming and wondrously beautiful.
Lake Ontario, 2010, photo from the author - another lovely Lake Ontario Sunset in a time when the seeds of my book were being planted.