The Solid Mandala

I have just started reading books by an Australian novelist called Patrick White. He is a recent discovery prompted by someone asking why New Zealanders don't read the literature of our closest neighbour.

The Solid Manadala tells the story of two brothers, Waldo and Arthur Brown, and the mutually dependent butantagonistic relationship they share: Waldo is cold and supremely rational in his behaviour while Arthur is warm-hearted and instinctual, so that together they represent what White saw as the two conflicting and complementary halves of human nature.Although Arthur would be considered by most in society as slightly "retarded", by the end of the novel he is shown to have a better grip on life than the conventional Waldo.

This is not a novel for those who love fast pace, but it is insightful about human nature and what goes on in our minds.

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The Saturday Night Read

It's Saturday night here in New Zealand and I'm just doing some reading. Mainly blog posts. The good thing is that no matter how obscure your interest is, you will find a band of people who share it. The Internet is a great tool for bringing like minded folks together.

I'm also reading poetry, one of my favorite occupations. The main poets I'm reading currently are Robert Frost, John Ashbery and Ted Hughes. I love purchasing the Collected works of poets and dipping in and out for enjoyment and inspiration. AS a poet I find that my craft is improved by exposure to the works of others. Check out my blog The MBS Poet for my writings and thoughts on Poetry in general.

I am also reading the letters of Patrick White, an Australian writer and Librarian poet, Philip Larkin. Two sets of letters from two different word crafters. White was predominantly a novelist, and Larkin a poet though he did publish two novels and some collections of shorter works.


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