Alibis: Essays on Elsewhere
A Memoir, Travel, Writing book. With the right hunch, you could read the inflection of an author's soul on a single comma, in one...
A Boston Globe Best Nonfiction Book of 2011 Celebrated as one of the most poignant stylists of his generation, André Aciman has written a luminous series of linked essays about time, place, identity, and art that show him at his very finest. From beautiful and moving pieces about the memory evoked by the scent of lavender; to meditations on cities like Barcelona, Rome, Paris, and New York; to his sheer...
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- Filetype: PDF
- Pages: 208 pages
- ISBN: 9780374102753 / 374102759
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More About Alibis: Essays on Elsewhere
New York may end up being no more than a scrim, a spectral film that is none other than our craving for romanceromance with life, with masonry, with memory, sometimes romance with nothing at all. This longing goes out to the city and from the city comes back to us. Call it narcissism. Or call it passion. It has its flare-ups, its cold nights, its sudden lurches, and its embraces. It is our life finally revealed to us in the most lifeless hard objects we'll ever cast eyes on: concrete, steel, stonework. Our need for intimacy and love is so powerful that... With the right hunch, you could read the inflection of an author's soul on a single comma, in one sentence, and from that one sentence seize the whole book, his life work. Andr Aciman, Alibis: Essays on Elsewhere // Every walk carves out a new city. And each of these tiny cities has its main square, a downtown area all its own, its own memorial statue, its own landmarks, laundromats, bus terminalin short, its own focal point (from the Latin word focus, meaning fireplace, hearth, foyer, home), warm spot, sweet spot, soft spot, hot spot. Andr Aciman, Alibis: Essays on Elsewhere //
Several of the essays were excellent, and there were some very thought-provoking ideas. The last couple of essays helped me to better understand his perspective (as an emigre, struggling to find home in the world), and it would have been helpful to me to read those first. Among my favorites were Rue Delta (which I would have liked to... Oh, I can't. I'm so sorry, Mr. Aciman, but I just cannot sit with you right now. Your world is not mine, and you make absolutely no effort to welcome me to it. You must understand that I want nothing more than do let you guide me, but you don't want to do that. You want to tell me about how pleased you are that you are in this world,... The "afterword" was the best part i think. Even though i still enjoyed Aciman's language and his interest in the subjects of nostalgia, home, and traveling, i kept thinking, "so what? why do i need to read about this mundane experiences?" and it seems like he is repeating the same thing over and over again, as if he "has" to write about...
