Relaxing Around

Been a very muggy warm day - not much sunshine but occasionally the sun bothered to announce itself from behind the clouds.  I seem to have let time flow by, just relaxing and hanging out. Watched people walk by whilst i was smoking my pipe on a bench for half an hour  this morning. However, i have now read another short book and will be onto my next.

I [aid my first two weeks rent at the hostel this morning - just sixteen pounds for the two weeks and very two weeks.

I been having a tasty jacket potato each day filled with different toppings. Yesterday it was tuna flakes in chill sauce, and today it was a stewed beef topping with coleslaw and salad. i have been using the Aldi store as that shop is the closest supermarket to me.

I also uploaded the VLC Media Player and You Tube Downloader soiftware. The latter will allow me to convert music vids into mp 3 or mp4 format.

Yesterday i also dwelt too much on what i had lost and was angry for a moment - in particular was a Lawrence Ferlinghetti CD - based on this book -



Then thee is the "Haunted Weather" book by David Toop , and i could go on - sigh!

Anyway, i look forward to my drink and meal visit in Whitstable tomorrow, and being Thursday it will be curry day!

Book 50 - Robert Seethaler "A Whole Life"

Robert Seethaler "A Whole Life" (Picador)




This deceptively simple but profoundly moving novella is set in a mountainside village in Germany, and it describes the life of Andreas Egger, an ordinary man who came to the village as a young child after the death of his mother from consumption. Despite being a quiet and obedient boy he is treated brutally by his uncle, a farmer in town, and shunned by the other members of his new family. After enduring years of physical and psychological abuse he is expelled from the farm, and is forced to fend for himself.

Andreas is a simple and taciturn man who works hard and asks for little other than a liveable wage and a place to lay his head. Despite his near silence and lack of friendship he is observant of his surroundings and holds deep affection for those who positively touch his life. He lives from one day to the next without reflection for the most part, and his life is a struggle to keep moving forward, even when numerous obstacles and tragedies threaten to break his body and spirit. He continues to hold his head up through it all, save for brief moments of sorrow, and as he approaches the end of his life he has no guilt, regrets or fears.

This is a remarkable story about an unremarkable man, which manages to be rich in detail and emotion despite being less than 150 pages of widely spaced print. This is easily one of the best novellas I've ever read, and I can't recommended this book highly enough.