As I have said before, I read prodigiously and always have at least a half-dozen books, with pages earmarked, in front of me patiently waiting for me to pick them up. I have been just this way for almost all of my life. It is fairly predictable for me to characterize the kind of books that I seek:
1- I1. I have a tremendous hunger to read books that I read as a young man and dismally failed to understand at that time. It is a revelation for me to read them again since the meaning is now so clear to me. Works like Camus's “The Stranger” or Dostoyevsky's “Notes From the Underground” ring like bells for me now. As an example of such works, I have just finished “Death in Venice” by Thomas Mann and watched the 1971 film by Visconti with a wonderful soundtrack of Mahler's music.
The story proceeds in three distinct levels and it is fascinating to see how they interweave with each other. The first level has to do with Thomas Mann himself and his transcendent skill as an author. It is easy to see him behind the scenes.
The second level has to do with the protagonist named Gustav Aschenbach who may be modeled on Gustav Mahler. Mann is able to get inside the head of the main character and illustrate his thinking process.
The third level which never ceases to astonish me is the presence of Greek mythology reflected throughout the story. Every action in the story has contributions from each of the three levels and they are woven together with magic. The gondolier who rows the protagonist to his hotel, for example, is clearly modeled on Charon, the ferryman of Hades, who carries the souls of the dead across the river Styx. Once you grasp this, the course of the book becomes very clear.
2-I read professional books all the time and since I recently got a client who just ended a paramourus relationship, I have been reading everything I can get my hands on about this topic. This led me to “The Ethical Slut,” by Easton and Hardy and stretched my education in area where it needed to be stretched. The book has helped me change my somewhat stereotypical, patriarchal view of marriage in new and unexpected directions. I will limit myself to one quote: The difference between sex and gender is that sex is between the legs and gender is between the ears. That comment is just precious and I hasten to share it with the gentle reader.
3-Since I just saw a play based upon a therapy session between Sigmund Freud and Gustav Mahler, a new biography of Mahler caught my attention. It is “Why Mahler? How One Man and Ten Symphonies Changed Our World” by Norman Lebrecht. This book is extremely impressive. In addition to an enormous amount of technical detail, which is fascinating in and of itself, the author writes like an angel. As a result I have had Mahler streaming through my speakers for the past 10 days.
I suppose there is a thread which connects all of this but, for the moment, it escapes me. Perhaps I will need to read another book…………..
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