I am reading a beautiful novel It's an all night fair by Pramoedya Ananta Toer and the simple and quiet prose is just breathtakingly magical. It can never be accurately described what a good book can do for the reader because it is such a personal experience. How one gets completely transported into an experiential state that configures with the imagined and the real to extend beyond the pages of the book and take shape as a memory within one, is what is so special.
It is always the human condition that underlies most beautifully written stories, and for me personally I look to find within them something that informs me that makes me reflect about my own concerns within life. A story about a father and a son, with so much suggested about longing and that which is lost for ever, It's not an all night fair has a quiet urgency which talks about survival and the darkness of shattered dreams.
What does the spirit of life clamour for most than to know hope ? Without romanticizing it, it is indeed a fact that pain and hardship forces many to find the core of humanism at times of extreme trial, to retrieve belief when otherwise our souls would be completely destroyed forever. Imprisoned by both the Dutch and the Indonesian government, this writer has embalmed the pain of these experiences to become the contours of his world in ways that show him the light.
For those of you who make the excuse about not having time to read good literature because of busy schedules, please pick up a book today (or an audio book) , and spend just 15 minutes of your day reading (or listening). It will open up your world in ways that are profound. This I promise you.
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