The suspense you’ve created is delicious. You description of fate so visceral - unfolding the way a picture emerges from a darkroom negative. That scene took me back to the time when I developed photos in my university darkroom. Can’t wait for the next installment! Grazie
Thank you so much, Eric, for your always kind and sensitive comments. I really appreciate them, every time. Developing photos seems to be a phase of life for many of us. I, too, had one. Thank you again!
I sometimes wonder whether - aged 18 - stumbling across this amazing resource at college that enticed us to experiment with film, light, shadows, exposure times, developing times, was a subtle metaphor for life itself. We have to take time to let things unfold in ways that we can’t see until the picture emerges with a crisp clarity.
Oooh, the magic stone! Clever cliffhanger. I liked esp. the vignettes. Reminded me of all the trips to Rabac back in the day. These days there are no vignettes anymore I think.
"But you keep going, enjoy the ride, immerse yourself in those dreamy images, and forget about having an objective at all. Sometimes, the why is not important."
Yes! This. Sometimes, we merely want to exist, a story for the story's sake.
"Yet, in all of Modiano’s novels, things never do make sense completely. But you keep going, enjoy the ride, immerse yourself in those dreamy images, and forget about having an objective at all. Sometimes, the why is not important."
And this is just how I feel reading this. Whatever that stone might be, whatever it might do, whether we have resolution or not, it doesn't matter because the journey of the words and what they evoke are what feels the most important to me.
Thank you, Nathan! As always, precious words from you. That, I think, is key. And about the cliffhanger, I had to break it there, or it would have been too long. But yes, it is a cliffhanger, and boy, how we like those!
I don't know! This may sound weird, but I'm sort of going with the flow. Initially, I had planned to write a piece in just two parts, but now this is taking a surprisingly new direction (auto)fiction-wise. So, I'm sailing by sight here. :)
Ooh, the suspense is delightfully unbearable!! The pictured stone, by the way, looks like one I would pick up for my collection… I wonder whether I ought to go examine them to see if any of them are magical?…
Loving the exploration of the serial format Silvio.
Thank you, Rick. We’ll see where this takes me. :)
The suspense you’ve created is delicious. You description of fate so visceral - unfolding the way a picture emerges from a darkroom negative. That scene took me back to the time when I developed photos in my university darkroom. Can’t wait for the next installment! Grazie
Thank you so much, Eric, for your always kind and sensitive comments. I really appreciate them, every time. Developing photos seems to be a phase of life for many of us. I, too, had one. Thank you again!
I sometimes wonder whether - aged 18 - stumbling across this amazing resource at college that enticed us to experiment with film, light, shadows, exposure times, developing times, was a subtle metaphor for life itself. We have to take time to let things unfold in ways that we can’t see until the picture emerges with a crisp clarity.
Absolutely. I think of it the same way. Such a fitting metaphor for life, as intrinsically unclear as it is.
Oooh, the magic stone! Clever cliffhanger. I liked esp. the vignettes. Reminded me of all the trips to Rabac back in the day. These days there are no vignettes anymore I think.
"But you keep going, enjoy the ride, immerse yourself in those dreamy images, and forget about having an objective at all. Sometimes, the why is not important."
Yes! This. Sometimes, we merely want to exist, a story for the story's sake.
Thank you so much, Alexander, for this thoughtful comment. I don’t know how this is going to develop, which is kind of weird. We’ll see. :)
Noooo, you can't leave it there on that cliffhanger, Silvio!!! 😆 We must have more. We must know more.
The mystery. The gorgeous mystery, dripping in wonder.
"Yet, in all of Modiano’s novels, things never do make sense completely. But you keep going, enjoy the ride, immerse yourself in those dreamy images, and forget about having an objective at all. Sometimes, the why is not important."
And this is just how I feel reading this. Whatever that stone might be, whatever it might do, whether we have resolution or not, it doesn't matter because the journey of the words and what they evoke are what feels the most important to me.
Thank you, Nathan! As always, precious words from you. That, I think, is key. And about the cliffhanger, I had to break it there, or it would have been too long. But yes, it is a cliffhanger, and boy, how we like those!
A wise choice, I'm sure. I have faced similar decisions in where to slice a text.
How many more pieces are there?
I don't know! This may sound weird, but I'm sort of going with the flow. Initially, I had planned to write a piece in just two parts, but now this is taking a surprisingly new direction (auto)fiction-wise. So, I'm sailing by sight here. :)
Oh….. the bindbending metamorphosis of this piece!!!
The funny thing is, Jisoo, is that it's as surprising to me as it is for a reader. :)
The best kind of sailing. Exhilarating! I'm so pleased to hear.
We'll see what happens! For now, I'm at ease with this process. :)
Loving this...novel?
Thank you. Just a story that reveals itself to me little by little.
Oh man, I am hooked! What is the stone for?
Loved the Modiano interlude that flows so freely within the narrative. Super reads, Silvio.
Thank you so much, Kate! I don't know why, but I kind of expected a comment on Modiano from you. :)
You already know me so well 😆
...what a glorious piece...
Thank you, CansaFis!
Ooh, the suspense is delightfully unbearable!! The pictured stone, by the way, looks like one I would pick up for my collection… I wonder whether I ought to go examine them to see if any of them are magical?…
Thank you, Rose. Who knows, maybe the magic isn’t in the stone, but in the hands of the beholder. :)
Oh yes, I believe you are right!!
Suspense…. Suspense….
A fair amount! :)