too hot for pants
The comment box asked me about Junzo Shono, whom I have not read. Here is the Booklist review for his novel Evening Clouds, which Hollywood will probably not be desperate to adapt anytime soon:
This series of vignettes focusing on the fictional Oura family was originally serialized in a Japanese daily. A subtle collection of episodes, it gives readers a glimpse of the idyllic country life through the eyes of the Ouras, who have just moved from Tokyo to a small house atop a nearby mountainside. Shono treats us to the simple pleasures of making yam soup, catching dragonflies, eating ripe red pears, and transplanting wild flowers into the family garden, as each family member delights in a different aspect of nature. Shono's writing conveys the flavor of life lived fully and the peaceful stillness found when one is happy with where one is at any given moment. Not even an invasion of stinging centipedes, the threat of a typhoon, or an encroaching housing development farther down the mountain can spoil the Ouras' happiness. Writing in a simple, honest style, Shono uses the everyday details of rural life as metaphors for the growing love the Oura family members feel for one another.
Really, that sounds like something I could use. I have learned 21 songs this week, in between writing 1000 words daily, and it has made me tired and fuzzy. I don't know what I'd do if I had a job.
It's bad enough when the president of South Africa disputes the connection between HIV and AIDS, but somehow Zambia's refusal to accept GMO corn strikes me as even worse. The "Frankenfood" thing is one of those liberal hand-wringing causes that I just can't get behind—in my mind the yuppies buying overpriced non-GMO food at the health market are silly enough, but a government deciding it's not good enough for their starving populace? Jesus.
