Reminded me a bit of Kurt Vonnegut's writing in that you laughed while reading it but couldn't remember anything after you finished the book because there was no plot to hang any details on. Could have been titled, 'a heartbreaking work of staggering goofiness.' Kinda lost steam at the end. I got tired of the bag lady's perspective and the street guy's 'biblical' style musings. The writer is an improv comedian and it shows. Sometimes it was so funny you'd pee your pants and other time it's just elicited a giant 'duh.'
Arlene mused, alcohol will help us create a consensual reality in which all of us here believe we're entertaining, intelligent people who really like each other.
But now she thinks that she's been writing to prepare herself and protect herself, that deep inside her she is, was, and always will be a creature that wants to hold things together, to prevent change, especially when things are good.
The following was a very funny thing to read after 5 years of skiing lessons and while on a skiing holiday;
"To survive, the human brain is programmed to see clear, smooth causes and effects. How else could we survive? We need to see the patterns, learn to identify the footprints of predator and prey, see where they lead, and react accordingly. We need to predict the predictable so that we can handle the unpredictable."
Yup.
And on the interconnectedness of all things;
Now we were watching helplessly as his fork casually roamed the table, dipping into our plates, casually snagging bits of salad and pasta primavera without asking our permission. Apparently, the doctor's new thoughts about the fundamental interconnectedness of all things had erased his ability to differentiate between "his" and what was "not his." If he'd ever had that ability.
"God died a cartoon death, you know."
"Look, God cheerfully led us to science, right past the cliff's edge of his own plausibility. Then, sometime in the middle of the nineteenth century, he looked down, saw he was standing on empty air, did one last double take to the camera, and plummeted to his death. If there ever was a deus ex machina, the machina was built by the ACME Corporation."
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Arlene mused, alcohol will help us create a consensual reality in which all of us here believe we're entertaining, intelligent people who really like each other.
But now she thinks that she's been writing to prepare herself and protect herself, that deep inside her she is, was, and always will be a creature that wants to hold things together, to prevent change, especially when things are good.
The following was a very funny thing to read after 5 years of skiing lessons and while on a skiing holiday;
"To survive, the human brain is programmed to see clear, smooth causes and effects. How else could we survive? We need to see the patterns, learn to identify the footprints of predator and prey, see where they lead, and react accordingly. We need to predict the predictable so that we can handle the unpredictable."
Yup.
And on the interconnectedness of all things;
Now we were watching helplessly as his fork casually roamed the table, dipping into our plates, casually snagging bits of salad and pasta primavera without asking our permission. Apparently, the doctor's new thoughts about the fundamental interconnectedness of all things had erased his ability to differentiate between "his" and what was "not his." If he'd ever had that ability.
"God died a cartoon death, you know."
"Look, God cheerfully led us to science, right past the cliff's edge of his own plausibility. Then, sometime in the middle of the nineteenth century, he looked down, saw he was standing on empty air, did one last double take to the camera, and plummeted to his death. If there ever was a deus ex machina, the machina was built by the ACME Corporation."