You know what I really really want to do on this long, tiresome and rainy day? Put on my orange nightgown, put my favorite Beauty Diary masque on my face, get into bed and reread Manhattan Transfer.
I first discovered this beautiful novel in a class on American Modernist literature back at McGill. There was no pre-registration for the courses in those times, and the professor expected the usual 20-25 students to attend. The material was so exciting, though, that he discovered 150+ students waiting for him in front of the classroom on the first day of class. At first, the professor was confused but then he realized we were all there for his course and practically bloomed with joy. I can just imagine him going back to the department and saying casually, “Oh, and my class on Modernism? I need a classroom to seat 150 people and 4 TAs, please.”
Actually, the class was not that amazing. The professor was enamored of the pathetic fallacy and kept talking about it for hours. He was also very much into counting rhetorical devices to see which ones were used the most. But everybody loved the course anyways because the readings were so damn good.
I was taking 6 courses that semester (and every semester during my BA), so I didn’t have the time to dedicate as much attention as I would have liked to Manhattan Transfer. Isn’t that a good excuse to re-read it? Or is that still too indulgent? I have a pile of new books I need to read urgently from here to the skies, so can I justify re-reading something I don’t need for work?
The temptation is strong.
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