City of Bohane

Even though it meets my definition of true science-fiction, I gave up on Irishman Kevin Barry's new novel City of Bohane, but I did like this bit of description about how the place where you live affects your personality: "too little has been said, actually, about living in windy places . . . when a wind blows in such ferocious gusts as the Big Nothin' hardwind, and when it blows forty-nine weeks out of the year, the effect is not physical only but philosophical . . . it is difficult to keep a firm hold of one's consciousness in such a wind . . . the mind is walloped from its train of thought by the constant assaults of wind . . . the result is a skittish, temperamental people with  tendency towards odd turn of logic," and it makes me wonder how different a person I would be if I was born in Argentina . . . would I have many lovers? be able to dance? wear leather pants? walk around with a rose between my teeth? . . . unfortunately, I will never know . . . there is no escaping the fact that my genes were forged and tempered in that crucible known as Central Jersey.

3 comments:

Clarence said...

I would agree that there is no escaping. To spend an hour with me in some random location, I think you might have a hard time pinning down with any precision (assuming no clues were given in conversation) from where I hail. 5 minutes with Dave, you are starting to hone in on the township.

zman said...

"Crucible" is an interesting metaphorical choice.

Dave said...

tara greens and the greasetrucks always seem to come up.

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