The weblog of Matthew Walker: MatthewWalker.net.nz, Otautahi, Aotearoa / Christchurch, New Zealand  
  • Tuesday, 22 July 2003

    • WhatBadgersEat.com

      I like a focussed web site.

    • Farewell Waltz

      I've just finished this novel by Milan Kundera which is set in a tiny spa town. The characters arrive at the town, interact, interpret and misinterpret each other's actions and motivations, fail to see the reults of their own actions, then spin off again into the night. We see it all however, and it comes together like a cosmic dance: planets whirling, drones blissbully unaware of the consequences of a collision about to happen or just past. And perhaps Kundera was thinking about gravity too, for the cover (designed by the author) portrays a tiny blue pill floating on a field of stars. This pill sweeps through the story like a comet leaving a trail of destruction in its wake. But of course the pill does nothing: it's not a player, it just is. The characters bring devastation upon each other, but fail to realise their own agency.

Recent photographs

Smallness
Ocelot
Black
Stina and square
Royal spoonbills
Bachelor's button
Mimulus repens
Sea primrose
Saltmarsh ribbonwood
Eelgrass
Mudsnail
Selliera and glasswort