Posted by Dinah on November 6, 2002, at 0:51:56
In reply to Re: OK, I ended up reading the book, posted by susan C on November 4, 2002, at 11:52:19
Thank you Mouse. :)
Like you, I saw a mirror to my own life in this book.
I am so happy for you for all that you've accomplished in reaching out to others. :)
You're right in that Singer hadn't recently, if ever, participated in the give and take of normal everyday conversation, and probably found it very odd. He either talked and talked or listened and listened.
And you're right about the unconditional love as well. Feeling both understood and accepted is wonderful. But does it really exist? In this book I didn't see it. Antonapoulas certainly felt no genuine love, acceptance, or understanding of Singer. Singer seemed to feel kindly enough towards his guests, and did accept them, but from the rare glimpses into his thoughts it seems clear he didn't love or understand them. Everyone felt this wonderful feeling of connection, but it was all based on misunderstandings. Is the fake unconditional love, acceptance, and understanding preferable to the real conditional and flawed love we can reasonably hope to find? Is its loss worth dying over? What did Singer have left to live for when his friend died? How can a somewhat acceptable reality compete with a perfect fantasy?
The others all had something else to tide them over when the dream was lost. Dr. Copeland and Jake had their obsessions. Mick had her responsibilities. What did Singer have?
But do you think any of the others were permanently changed by their association with Singer? I think the saddest part of the book to me was that in my opinion, they weren't. They just had an interlude. Then back to real life.
poster:Dinah
thread:699
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/books/20020616/msgs/720.html