Friday, March 09, 2007

Yonge Line, willing to wait for the next train.

Caucasian male, mid 20s, wearing a second hand leather jacket, Blundstones and a tweed cap.

A Heartbreaking Work of Staggering Genius, Dave Eggers (Simon & Schuster)

Page 98:

Her motivations are unclear, but I have a theory: at twenty-nine, she, like most people at or near thirty, is feeling wretched, old, as if their chance has passed--and the only way to regain even a smidgen of their squandered youth would be to drink in someone like me, bursting with virility--But whoa I feared seeing her naked body.

I'd like to tell you something about this naked body. This naked body has more spiritual, physical, emotional, psychological, ecstatic, blissful, gut wrenching knowledge, expertise, wisdom, playfulness, serendipity, adventure, courage, permission, humility, joy, terror, honesty, trust, mania and truth in her stretch marks, varicose veins, cauliflower ass, motel pillow lumpy breasts, graying pubes, creased eyes, lips, forehead and collarbone than you do in your poreless, perfect, precious, never been used for much good puss. A hungry woman is not a desperate woman. And at under thirty, I'm thinking you got some learnin' to do. So why don't you mind your manners and respect your elder. 'cause school ain't out, child.

6 comments:

Jean-Michel said...

Eerie coincidence: I'm re-reading this book right now. This, apart from the clothes and the location, could have been me. :O

Anonymous said...

Ha! Well said.

Julie Wilson said...

j-m: One day...one day, I shall "see" you all! Muah, hah, ha...Okay, creepy time over.

Anon: thanks for forgiving me the rant. :)

Anonymous said...

Love it! Such in-your-face stripped-down strength! Let's hear a rousing chorus of 'I am woman; hear me roar!'

You renew my faith in lists.

Julie Wilson said...

Haha. Thanks! The timing was incredible. I'd *just* had a conversation with a friend about the challenges of keeping your self-perception intact as we leave our twenties/thirties. I went to do my research for this entry, turned to the page and was all, "Oh, you gotta be kidding me!" I guess I kind of let loose. ;)

Glad you liked it!

Anonymous said...

I have a friend who has dated older women. He always ends up terrified of them. But it's not their bodies he fears, it's their determination. It's the way they old on so tight once they've got something to hold on to.

I haven't read the book, but from this one passage it could be that he fears the NAKEDNESS more than the body. People can be very open when they're desperate and some levels of Open can be terrifying.