peter rietbergen

Thanks for the Knausgard-reference. I missed that mastodont - maybe beause I'm over- and yet underwhelmed by his other not exactly slim-sized novels.

Do we have to conquer the restrictions love poses on us to actually find it?

Thanks, for the confession. Maybe my comment stemns from the fact that I'm unable to decide whether this story is "a" story, or - despite or, precisely, in its narrative complexity - a "memoir" of the author's own life. This side of the ocean, there's a small literary and, indeed, also almost philosophical/ethical storm blowing about the validity of that new/specific genre - with people increasingly confused about what they're offered, and how to relate to it. For at least in Europe, the marketing, indeed the commercialization of the "memoir"-genre - especially of texts dealing with war trauma, incest, other forms of abuse, LGTB...issues, class barriers, et cetera, et cetera - leaves many readers non-plussed: what are we actually buying, why, and how to read, interpret it? On the one hand, I obviously understand a person's need to somehow deal with her/his problems, past and present. And if the story-form helps, so much the better. If, on the other, such a story, fictionalised, is yet 'sold' to readers to draw pity on an author's plight, is monetsied both for the publisher's and the author's profit, one cannot but ask the question: how "real" is what I'm reading? And yes, of course I know that's a question that has been asked of 'the novel' since the genre was first used...Is Murasaki's Genji-tale HER story? Is madame De la Fayette's "la Princesse" really a veiled version of her own life? Et cetera. In short, another conundrum....

Call me obtuse, but by now I'm a little bit confused about the number of men "Jimmy" has been "in love" with. To simply go through the previous chapters again and count them - no. I need to go on with my own writing, however much I like procrastinating and indulge in your stories ☺️.

I can think of more exciting continuations....

Such a real pity the story seems to have - well, whatever it has... I miss it.

For all the sex scene-craving above: more of that definitely isn't going to solve any of the conundrums in this story, whether they be philosophical, ethical, time-journeying or other. Actually I'd b bored out of my mind. I much rather keep following the author's convoluted path(s).

I agree in the sense that, often, "religion" is not about "God", but about power and, hence, dominion and destruction.

even so: since the concept of cheating is, I think, not so much a philosophical as an ethical problem: I don't feel the question is apt, in this specific case. For if we take the time-travel concept seriously (if we can do that...) there could be no even flickering recognition in Stoker, as much as, for the sake of the story, we love it. It also means that, THEN, the sex between H and A is only that, despite H's knowledge of the/a future....So who, then, is cheating/being cheated?

and that is how it should be....

Interesting: are we (only) free if we are without "God"? Doesn't that yet depend on your definition of "God". What if "God" is what is best - most reasoned but also most compassionate - in us...?

Perfect examples. But, arguably, not the operas that keep returning to the grand auditorium.... Meanwhile I do relish the idea - and the mermaid might serve as the voice of unrequited (female) love for a/the male protagonist, describing situations, asking questions and, perhaps, succumbing to insanity and death in the end - with the appropriately dramatic arias, as Grand Opera requires. Who of (all) the male heroes finally embraces who in a mellifluous duet - that's for you to decide. Whatever you come up with, I'll shout Bravo.

Ha - an interesting idea indeed. And Orlinski, by now also a gay icon, would be a box-office magnet - for specific audiences, that is. But yet: an all-male cast, albeit a star-one, won't do for the average opera-aficionado - even with so many gays amongst them - because they crave their soprano's and top-notes...

True. It's perhaps the world's greatest danger, because it enables so many other dangers to grow like poisonous fungi. One can only hope that your ideal - a return to love as the basic truth - will yet become a reality.

"Your mind," Madam Woo continued, her voice soft but firm, "is a vast library, is it not? A magnificent thing. But Dottie, in her genius, has found a way to corrupt it. She has filled it with lies. A thousand different books, all claiming to be the truth, all stacked on the same shelf. She is not a warrior, but a librarian of chaos. She has weaponized information against you. She has turned your greatest strength into your greatest weakness. Your mind is collapsing under the weight of her lies." The world wide web/intenet - at its worst?

By the way (and not knowing where the political development(s) will take us): increasingly, I feel this story has what it takes to create the backbone of a fascinating film-script. But it would need some really good character actors, rather than the standard Hollywood ones. And, of course: the chances of such a thing happening are slim without introducing a "female lead"....

The storyline of a threat of a dangerous political intrigue is not unexpected - otherwise, the story would peter out. But it is intriguing, to say the least. It will keep us with you for (many?) more chapters..

This chapter does, indeed, magnificently capture the many shades of love that exist in and around Jackson. I can only say: Bravo.

Promising...

Dear L, thank you for the Sunny Hill-universe.

I think it would be best if you have no communication with your ex. He clearly upsets you and makes you feel weak, and I never want that for you. So please promise you will come to me straight away if he tries to get back in contact with you, and we can work it out together. Remind me how old these boys/men are? Surely, this is the wrong way to solve the serious issue Ryan has? Rather than ecaping D. like a child or a teenager would, he should confront him, face him, see if - and how - he can survive the guilt-trip this man has posed on him. He'll never be a grown-up, never be a man Jasper can actually trust if he goes into hiding.

Make no mistake: I absolutely love following you on that bumpy ride!

Very cleverly constructed. And, moreover, it does work!

the vicar... I doubt it. In early 19th-century England precisely such a man 'of the cloth' would have been very much part of the country's social, cultural and, indeed, political establishment - the very elite that, at least in public, would condemn homosexuality even more than, e.g., a village community where, if lived discreetly, it might be tacitly accepted as a thing that 'occurred'. But yes, I see your conundrum...

Stoker leaned back, running a hand over the scuffed leather of the booth. He let his eyes wander, taking in the bizarre spectacle. It was a place of endless stories, of people who had been plucked from their lives and cast adrift on the currents of time. He saw a man from the 18th century arguing passionately with a man in a business suit from the 1960s, their conversation animated and earnest. He saw two women, both wearing what looked like identical dresses from the 1940s, talking quietly, their heads bent in what seemed to be a moment of shared grief. The problem of describing time-travel through the participants' eyes and yet communicate with contemporary readers.... : "He saw..." But while HW might have 'recognised' an 18th-century lady, AS, given his background, would not. Nor would either of them know how to place a 20th-century businessman, et cetera...