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March 11, 2005Spring Break--time to be productive? Whaaaa?
It's not often that I can claim to have accomplished much--or anything, usually--before 9 a.m., but I seem to have gotten off to a productive start today. I zonked out on the couch last night around 9 or 10 p.m., too tired to bother with dinner. I must have dragged myself to bed at some point, because that's where I woke up at 6 a.m., uncharacteristically ready to start the day.
I've already done my taxes (ugh!) this morning, decluttered my apartment a bit, and I've just started tackling my pile o' laundry. My quarters are marshaled into stacks of three and four (for the washer and dryer, respectively), and I've got a great book with which to pass the time--"The Nonexistent Knight & The Cloven Viscount," two novellas by Italo Calvino. I'd never heard of Calvino, but Salman Rushdie spoke very highly of his writing, so I figured I'd give him a try. After all, anybody talented enough to write "Midnight's Children" seems like a pretty damn good judge of literary character.
(And speaking of things Rushdie-related, Spanish Muslims just issued a fatwah against Osama Bin Laden. A toothless gesture, compared to the very real fatwah that sent Rushdie into protective custody on February 14, 1989, but a worthwhile one, however symbolic.)
But back to "The Nonexistent Knight" The main character is one of Charlemagne's soldiers, Agilulf Emo Bertrandin of the Guildivern and of the Others of Corventraz and Sura, Knight of Selimpia Citeriore and Fez.
He's stuffy, by-the-books, and more than a little reminiscent of Don Quixote.
Oh, and did I mention that Agilulf is an empty suit of armor, held together by nothing more than his own determination and sense of duty?
And here's the back cover blurb for "The Cloven Viscount":
"In this divertingly macabre fantasy, a nobleman is neatly bisected by a cannon ball in a battle against the Turks. One half of him returns to his feudal estate and takes up a lavishly evil life. Soon the other, virtuous half appears. The two halves become rivals for the love of the same woman, fight a bloody duel, and achieve a miraculous resolution."
Love me this book. Loooooove it.
Posted by patrick at March 11, 2005 02:26 PM
CommentsSpeaking of taxes, I apparently get a nice little return this year, which technically sucks because it's money that could have already been sitting in my bank account generating interest by now, but oh well. I remember the year I owed State $1. That's right, $1. Do you know how silly I felt writing a check for one little dollar?
Posted by: Steph at August 25, 2005 02:06 PM
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