Month: November 2017

All change: Jan Mark’s “Thunder and Lightnings” (1976)

~ Into the Gyre ~ 4 Comments

In my previous post I wrote about nostalgia and the loss of contiguity that can trigger it. There are books, though, that I have always had: every house move has seen them boxed, shifted and unpacked; and, in time, re-read. For these books, each re-reading reveals new aspects: a form of anti- or a-nostalgia. One … Continue reading All change: Jan Mark’s “Thunder and Lightnings” (1976)

The lure, the lie and the lessons of nostalgia

~ Into the Gyre ~ 7 Comments

"Proust had a bad memory...The man with a good memory does not remember anything because he does not forget anything." Samuel Beckett, 'Proust' To begin with, the first part of the quote above must look like exceptional contrariness on Beckett's part. Proust's most famous work is, after all, À la recherche du temps perdu (In … Continue reading The lure, the lie and the lessons of nostalgia