I just finished reading Maggie O’Farrell’s HAMNET. From all I’d read and heard about this book-- including its prize-winning ways-- I figured I’d be reading a good book. Maybe a great one. But with all that baggage, and knowing we were dealing with ‘literary fiction’ I also feared that reading it might be a bit of a chore. I mean, I’ve read ‘classics’ before, lots of ‘em. They tend to be clearly worthy of their reputations…but not easy. Not a page-turner. Not a zippy mystery from Michael Connelly or a tense must-finish from Stephen King. 

So I expected a good book. I feared a high-falutin’ slog. Expectations were more than met, fears soon evaporated.

For the first two-thirds of the book, 200 pages or thereabouts, I thought “good book. Very interesting, well-written, tells its story very well, yeah, good.” And I was satisfied. Not a great book (at that point), but certainly a good, readable, interesting novel. 

Then, with about a third of book to go, magic happened. The last 100 pages of HAMNET are astonishing. O’Farrell is practicing some sort of sorcery here. It becomes a masterpiece, about as fine a piece of writing as I’ve ever had the pleasure to read.

It wouldn’t be called “fun” reading, however. It’s a heartbreaking record of grief, a litany of agony, brilliantly told, which somehow manages an uplifting ending. 

Yeah. One of the best things I’ve ever read.

 

For years I collected movie quotes. I’d hear a line I loved and I’d immediately write it down and add it to my pages and pages of quotes. In truth, I still collect movie quotes though these days it really has to knock my socks off to make the grade.  For a time I even fancied putting a book together of great movie quotes, but, me being me, nothing came of that. Others have published such books and I don’t think any of them really sold, so no great loss.

But I might as well make use of some of these, since I still am hugely fond of them. These are not the really famous ones. No “We’ll always have Paris” or “I’ll make him an offer he can’t refuse” or “Gentlemen, you can’t fight in here, this is the War Room.”  These are lesser known.

None are from truly obscure films, though some are wildly underseen. I won’t tell you the film titles, but I will include a photo from each movie which should make most of them easier, if not always really easy. 

Enjoy.

“Look, Iron Man, if you’re so uptight, take a shower and cool off.”        

“Just think, the next time I shoot someone, I could be arrested.”   

“There’ll be no morning for us.”        

“Think of me as falling out of a window-- forever.  For I am truly fucked.”

“If there were no gods at all I'd still revere them. If there were no Rome, I'd dream of her.”

“I'm a virgin. I'm just not very good at it.” 

“He dreaded the thought of being shot down alone, without a girl to scream out his name.” 

“The only thing standing between you and a watery grave is your wits, and that's not my idea of adequate protection.” 

“I looked for you in my closet.” 

“I will take you places you have never been, I will show you things you have never seen, and I will watch the life run out of you.” 

ANNA KARENINA is, as advertised, a great book. No surprise there. 

One segment in particular grabbed me hard. The chapter in which Kitty is in labor and Levin, the expectant father, is in his own Twilight Zoneish hell of waiting, is simply stunning. And the description of Levin beholding his new son, is a touching, chest-clutching masterpiece. 

“And meanwhile, there at the foot of the bed, in the deft hands of Lizaveta Petrovna, like a small flame over a lamp, wavered the life of a human being who had never existed before and who, with the same right, with the same importance for itself, would live and produce its own kind.”    

Tolstoy has a remarkable ability to locate, isolate, and describe human behavior and human nature in its broadest obviousness and in its most utter invisibility. As Anna disintegrates, Tolstoy takes us inside her deeply troubled head. It’s great stuff. 

But…

...I have to admit, starting with about 200 pages to go, I began to fervently wish for Anna to for God’s sake stop whining, and just head for the nearest train station.