Wednesday, October 20, 2010

Sometimes it's just one sentence.

Monday Morning, 2010

Today I woke and read. All was calm and peaceful before I was halted by this sentence.

They might have been robots, so mechanical was their performance, and I asked myself if it was possible that at one time, when they were setting out, they had thought they might be musicians whom people would come from far to hear and to applaud.

Sometimes it's just one sentence. I absently replaced the bookmark and decided to visit the bay.

Quote: W. Somerset Maugham, The Razor's Edge

20 comments:

  1. I made a list for the market:
    pineapple
    butter
    rolled oats
    peanut butter
    soap
    razor
    tuna

    Razor. The Razors Edge. Synchronicity or just a list? Probably just a list, but I like the coincidence.

    And then for 'word verification' before I can leave a comment it's asking me to type in 'dually'.

    So now I'm thinking synchronicity.

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  2. Words have such power. Such a simple sentence, yet conveying so much.

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  3. Your photo is really beautiful. I love when a line in a book leaves me thinking.

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  4. I love the words and photos. A short post but saying so much. I'm like you and often read sentence which stops me dead in my tracks and sends me off in a diferent direction. It's ages since I read Somerset Maugham. Have you seen that film the Painted Veil based on one of his stories? I loved it.

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  5. beautiful. the photo and the words here. i like to read until i stumble on such a sentence and then i always close the book there so i can think about it all day or dream about it all night.

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  6. You always inspire such thoughtful comments with your visionary posts, sometimes I have to visit several times before I let myself speak.

    Today I dove right in.

    beautiful.

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  7. wrong or bee,such a melody,
    aquatic surgery of laces!

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  8. Gotta love that Somerset Maugham! His powers of perception and human observation and sensitivity make him a sublime novelist. I've read and loved Of Human Bondage and The Painted Veil; The Razor's Edge is now on my to-read list.

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  9. Your posts always leave me reflecting. Today it leaves wishing I had that freedom... to be enticed by a line from a book... someday soon, right?

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  10. i've never read that before - i need to do that. what an inspiration

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  11. When one sentence can stop us in our tracks...oh the power of the verse. A moment to cherish.

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  12. I'm glad you dropped everything and went to the bay.

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  13. Yes. Sentences. For me its words. I love certain words. Since English is my third language, I see English words in a different way. I love the word 'scrumptious'

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  14. i think i might have done the same thing :).

    I also need to read The Razor's Edge. Beautiful post.

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  15. the photo is amazing... so organic, so abstract, so poetic

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  16. Many of your posts I reread, after a couple of days; when I first read the sentence, I reacted too, like, oh harsh, I'm done. On another read, a strong turn of phrase (the idea of robots mentioned in Maugham's writing!) that says a lot about the heart of the players, maybe the viewer.

    how long before you returned to the book?

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  17. Oh! Razor's edge! I don't know why I didn't finish it, but I need to go back to it again. I loved how it started...

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  18. Thank-you for reminding me to revisit that particular gem.

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  19. Love the photo, love the excerpt, love your blog!

    Love the sandwich!

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  20. Tracy, Now I'm wondering what you are up to today. I've also been thinking about your other blog. Are you taking a break? When does programming begin again?

    kate, I agree, completely.

    alexandria, Yes, he's done it several times in this book.

    Vanessa, I have not seen The Painted Veil, but would like to. I'm sure I'd love it too.

    shari, I like the idea of stopping so I can dream about it at night.

    flwrjane, You are just too nice to me.

    versus, Not really sure how to respond...

    Joanna, I've heard Cakes and Ale is good too.

    Annje, Yes, soon. Soon there will be an Annje afternoon, all to yourself.

    Char, Almost done...

    Rachel, It is a good thing in life.

    Bethany, Me too.

    Raina, I think I feel similarly about Italian. I enjoy ordering acqua minerale so much more than mineral water. Scrumptious is a good word.

    Lydia, Thank you.

    Amelia, Thank you.

    nancy, I returned the same day. The excerpt seemed so sad to me because it made me think of lives being passed by. This is why I decided to get out and experience the world.

    Molly, It's one of those books I've been reading slowly but surely, not one I race through, like a Vendela Vida novel. Although I love her writing too. It's been a nice slow read. Almost finished.

    gracia, You are welcome. I hope you enjoy it.

    Kathleen, Thank you!

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