.SOMETIMES RAW.

“I don’t ask writers about their work habits. I really don’t care. Joyce Carol Oates says somewhere that when writers ask each other what time they start working and when they finish and how much time they take for lunch, they’re actually trying to find out, “Is he as crazy as I am?” I don’t need that question answered.”  ― Philip Roth

Hello and Happy Thursday! 

The other day I looked through all my posts I have written in just one year to see what else might be interesting to add. I have to say it is a lot for one year and I am proud of myself to be this committed. Even more surprised I was that I have not written anything about my favorite author Philip Roth. He wrote 31 books so far and I read all of them. Seriously, I am that crazy about this author. Some I like more and some less but I remember the time when his latest book [Nemesis] came out and I stood in front of the bookstore at 8am to purchase a copy. If you have never read anything by Roth I would recommend to start with  The Dying Animal. This book is simply amazing and perfection from the first sentence to the last. 

“No matter how much you know, no matter how much you think, no matter how much you plot and you connive and you plan, you’re not superior to sex. With these words our most unflaggingly energetic and morally serious novelist launches perhaps his fiercest book. The speaker is David Kepesh, white-haired and over sixty, an eminent cultural critic and star lecturer at a New York college–as well as an articulate propagandist of the sexual revolution. For years he has made a practice of sleeping with adventurous female students while maintaining an aesthete’s critical distance. But now that distance has been annihilated.

The agency of Kepesh’s undoing is Consuela Castillo, the decorous and humblingly beautiful 24-year-old daughter of Cuban exiles. When he becomes involved with her, Kepesh finds himself dragged–helplessly, bitterly, furiously–into the quagmire of sexual jealousy and loss. In chronicling this descent, Philip Roth performs a breathtaking set of variations on the themes of eros and mortality, license and repression, selfishness and sacrifice. The Dying Animal is a burning coal of a book, filled with intellectual heat and not a little danger.”

This book has been made into a movie. Check out the trailer for Elegy here.  I just love this friction, every time I read Roth. Here are some things I like you to know about this great author:

Philip Milton Roth (born 1933-in Newark New Jersey) is an American novelist and short-story writer. He is considered one of the leading authors of the 20th century.  He writes provocatively about American as well as Jewish identity. Roth is also well known to focus on familial love, mortality and sexuality in his novels. He wrote his best-seller Portnoy’s Complaint in 1969 and has earned many major awards for all his other novels throughout the years. Pulitzer Prize for American Pastoral and National Book Awards for Sabbath’s Theater are just some I would like to mention. Philip Roth is a controversial writer and got many Jewish readers upset when the story Defender of the Faith was published in 1975. 

 “I was suddenly being assailed as an anti-Semite, this thing that I had detested all my life, and a self-hating Jew,” Roth later explained to The New York Times.

Roth recently announced that he retired from writing but I believe this is difficult for him. He almost wrote a novel every year. And I don’t want him to retire – matter of fact. He is known as being a bit of recluse while living at his Connecticut home [Warren – and yes, stalker-me has been there to see if he is at the local coffee shop!] home.

Roth has been married twice. He married Margaret Martison in 1959. They separated but were not divorced when she had a car accident and died in 1968. He married Claire Bloom later on but they separated in 1993 and divorced two years later. Actually, Claire Bloom wrote the memoir Leaving a Doll’s House and of course I read it. It is awesome to see the other side of the coin sometimes. I read Roth’s autobiography The Facts  when he spoke about her a bit but more in I Married to A Communist.  It always takes two to tango, right!?

One of my favorite documentary is Philip Roth’s Unleashed BBC. It makes me feel good to just listen to him talking. Enjoy if you would like. 

Have you read anything by Philip Roth? Do you like his writing? I would love to hear from you. 

You are a great friend and the best sister I could ask for. Today you are 31 years old! Wow. Time just flew by! Do you remember when we played outside in the snow and were so tiny? [Almost as tiny as my eyes? :)] I am proud of you, my dear. Proud of you, that you still keep your marbles with TWO kids while I am losing mine with one. How you always try something new and keep your eyes and ears open to everything and anything. You are very loving, GOOD LOOKING, sexy, smart and just awesome! 

Happy Birthday again! I love you! And you know what I mean with this song. <3

Hello and Happy Saturday! 

The last couple of days were filled with this blooming, warm spring feeling even though it was actually pretty cold outside. Today was gorgeous however. Spring is my favorite season of the year. For me it means new life. I already see birds building their little nests and buds on trees that try to seek some sun. This season screams for something new, fresh and changes. I don’t have to tell you that I am a lover of spring cleaning. I just like it when things are clean and in order. Always did and maybe always will. I am working on cleaning my soul too which is quite some work but so worth it.

We did some work in my parent’s garden today which feels to me like meditation. Being in nature is wonderful and cleansing by itself. While we walked through the garden, inspected and decided what places need a bit of clean-up I also thought about myself and what I need to sort out and organize in my life. Where does it feel messy and where do I need to cut some branches, you know. This beautiful garden that even though it seems perfect the way it is needs some de-cluttering and so do I. 

I have to admit that I never looked at myself this way before I started meditation. And I am by far not where I would love to be but when I sit quietly in a room for example, I am able to see things within myself that are pretty amazing, calm and quiet. So what does spring mean to me? Sorting out things basically. All deadlines, my personal goals, my health and organizing and cleaning my house.

The entire world has read this book and even though I am not a big fan of it, I have to say that there are some great tips on how to clean and organize things in one’s life. Maybe to read it now it is more inspiring or makes more sense.  Spring cleaning is great for letting go and looking through stuff that is lying around all over the place.

Deep breathing and fresh air feel so much different in spring than in winter I reckon. Today I enjoyed that we could open windows and doors and just let in some fresh April-air and the air was warm. I also want to open doors within myself and welcome new opportunities and challenges. In a way I learned again  to deal with whatever comes my way and make the best out of any situation. Whatever life throws at me! While I am typing this, my son is sick in bed with a cold. Poor little guy. Life is not always smooth sailing. And when you think you have it all figured out, life gives you another task or challenge to work on. Just breathe. 

The days grow longer and lighter (yay, sunset at 7.15 pm today!) and it feels that my heart just follows along. People are happier and more content it seems and they smile more often. Haven’t you noticed? Finally, the cold, snow and the winter are not on people’s minds anymore but rather BBQ’s. While I sat outside and listened to birds I tried to figure out what grows and changes in my personal life’s garden. What type of attitudes do I still struggle with or what bad habits am I willing to finally break? My mom always says that there are no weeds in nature; everything has a reason why it grows usually at a spot where you don’t want it to. However, I do want to get rid of some weeds of negativity that are seemingly popping out of nowhere in my head and try to replace them with positive seeds that will eventually inspire and encourage me to learn and see something new. 

Do you love spring as much as I do? I would love to hear from you.