A number of years ago, at a library book sale, I picked up a book for 25 cents called The River Why, by David James Duncan. I don't know why I bought it; I had never heard of the book or the author before. Something about the cover, probably. Anyway, I stuffed it into a bag with the forty other books I'd bought, and as soon as I got home and started reading it, I was impressed. It was funny. It was smart. It was subtly profound. It had a great story that immediately pulled you in, and hooked you, and wouldn't let you go. It turned out to be one of the best books I've ever read, and I've read a lot of books. Naturally, I couldn't keep a book like that all to myself, and promptly lent it to a friend, who lent it to a friend, who lent it to a friend... and I never saw it again. But that's okay. Good books are meant to be shared. I hope a lot of people enjoy it.
Fast forward a few years. Another library book sale. I spot another book by David James Duncan. A much bigger book this time called The Brothers K. I bought it, of course, and when I started reading it, I found the same clever, witty style that impressed me so much in his first book. The story, however, seemed to be a little slow getting off the ground. But that was okay. It was a big book. There was plenty of time. Two of my favourite authors, Sir Walter Scott and Nevil Shute, both write that way. They like to take their time introducing characters, and setting up plots. But I know, if I keep reading, sooner or later the story will explode, and it will turn into something truly momentous - and it always does.
But for some reason at that time I was too busy or hectic or stressed, and I put the book down. I fully intended to get back into it at the first opportunity, and over the next year or two I picked it up a half dozen times, although I still never made it past the first few chapters. It just wasn't the right time, I suppose.
Fast forward a couple more years, and I find myself in a different situation, with a different lifestyle, and an opportunity to get into some serious reading. So I pick up The Brothers K one more time, and this time I stick with it. And sure enough, after the first few chapters I once again find myself reading a book that was becoming really hard to put down. Every time I turned a page, it seemed to get more exciting, more witty, more heart-wrenching, more profound.
It was a quiet Sunday morning, and I was about three quarters of the way through the book, when I sat down to read a little before working on my weekly web site update. Well, the story became so enthralling, there was no way I could even think about doing anything else. My web site would have to wait. So would eating, and getting dressed. It was like I was hypnotised. It was like I was part of the story.
The last few chapters were difficult to read, because I was either falling off my chair laughing, or the words would be all blurred by the water in my eyes. I was profoundly moved. It took me the entire day to finish it, and another entire day to get over it, and get my emotions back under control. This book is that good. It's the kind of book you have to "walk off" after you've read it. Thank-you, David James Duncan.
We were heading for an insane asylum in California. We looked more as if we'd escaped from one. But in the pouring grey rain, I felt clarity. With the war still raging, I felt peace. With Papa in despair, Everett in prison, and Irwin in the asylum, I felt release. I didn't understand my feelings, didn't even desire them, really, but they kept filling me so full that my eyes began to well. Which embarrassed me. So I finally stood up, darted into the tiny bathroom, locked the door.
I didn't understand any of it, didn't know what I was saying, but I found myself suddenly whispering to my brother, a thousand miles to the south, "You know this feeling, don't you?" Pain and sorrow never end. Nothing we do is enough. It's always been this way. "But joy," I whispered to Irwin, "This joy. It's boundless too, and endless. So hold on. This isn't theirs to knock out of you. It's not yours to lose. It's not mine either. But it's making the trip. It's coming. So please. Just hold on."
- from The Brothers K, by David James Duncan.
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