Hello everyone! Hope you are doing great!
In my last post I shared with you this book, "The Cost of Living" by Deborah Levy, which I really liked. I wanted to talk to you a little bit more about it.
Deborah Levy is a South African novelist, playwright and poet. I got to know her work through a Domestika course about writing, in which Julia Bell (another author I have to explore) recommended her work.
The way Deborah talks about her life, connecting it with different themes reminds me of the way Paul Auster wrote. I really enjoyed his book "Winter Journal", where he also goes through his life sharing his reflections, fears, how life changes so fast. I found so interesting this way of writing, writing about themselves and at the same time analyzing the world. The failure of a relationship, the expectations we have when we are young about the future, the dreams that didn't happen. It is impossible not to be empathetic with their stories.
I read Deborah Levy's book in less than a week. It's not a long book, but there are phrases that keep buzzing in your head, and you get stucked in the page, reflecting on how that phrase has a meaning in your life. The book starts with this sentence: "As Orson Welles told us, if we want a happy ending, it depends on where we stop the story". It made me think about how many expectations we have, and when we not achieve them it's like the end of the world. But it has happened me in life that my plans completely changed, and guess what? Everything was alright, even better. I heard before that sometimes you have to trust life, destiny and its plans. Do we really know what is best for us, or do we have to let things take its course and at some point surprise us?
She also reflects a lot about women role in society and what men expect from them. "It had not occurred to him that she might not consider herself to be the minor character and him the major character. In this sense, she had unsettled a boundary, collapsed a social hierarchy, broken with the usual rituals". Do you feel when you are in a relationship that you are also a main character in the story? Or just a minor one, living someone else´s goals? What do we expect from our companions? Companionship? Shared protagonism?
Deborah talks about her divorce, she says "To unmake a family home is like breaking a clock. So much time has passed through all the dimensions of that home". I always think about where life will lead us, and how we confront those challenges. Is life really over after that or is it an opportunity to start over, rethink what we really want, where we would really like to be? Society standards make ou think that if you get divorce you are a failure, but what truely happens is a chance for everyone to be happy again, heal, see new paths. A family can be different, but that doesn't make it less valuable. I strongly believe that every decision in life has to take us to the most obvious and important goal: be happy.
I could keep going hours writing about this book! So much to take in! I hope you get the chance to read it, and see what answers you come up with:)
Thank you for reading me, and until the next post!!
If you want to know a little more about me:
My Patreon join me to see behind the scenes, what inspires me, my projects, weekly updates and more! And all my comics in one place!!
Instagram sharing everyday insights, tips, illustrations.
My Etsy Shop art prints, totebags, stickers, mugs and more! :) hope you like them!
Portfolio I try to keep it updated with all my new work!
Twitter also sharing art, photography, trips
Good reads sharing books all the time!
Tik tok sharing trips, illustrations processes and anything I found useful :)
0 Comments