Cereus Blooms at Night

I read this novel about 5 years ago and have never forgotten it. It is one of the most beautiful stories I have ever read, kind of magical. I decided today that I need to read it again sometime. Not many novels deserve that. I highly recommend this to anyone who is searching for a good book to read. The author is Shani Mootoo. This is her first novel. She is also a filmmaker and a painter. The painting on the cover is one of hers.

naked

(re: The Time Traveler' Wife)
Clare has quite the husband. Most couples, upon waking up in the morning, would discuss dreams they just had. Clare and Henry talk about where he went in time during the night. When Henry time travels, he is not able to take anything with him. That includes clothing, jewellery, filliings in his teeth...it makes for some interesting situations because he has no control over when and where he travels. He finds himself naked, whenever he goes. To survive these sticky situations, he quickly learns the tricks of thievery.

les femmes

(re: The Time Travelers' Wife)
The author obviously is a fan of the Violent Femmes. The characters went to a concert and it reminded me so much of the one i went to in 2000. mmm...so good. They're dancing to "Gone Daddy Gone" and she says "The music is goading, mocking (I ain't had much to live for I ain't had much to live for I ain't had much to live for I ain't had much to live for). We throw ourselves at it. My body is elastic, my legs are numb, and a sensation of white heat travels from my crotch to the top of my head. My hair is damp ropes that cling to my arms and neck and face and back. The music crashes into a wall and stops." It's not necessarily amazingly written but it brought me back to the times that i have thrown my whole being into a Violent Femmes song.

Mr. Tickle and Mr. Grumpy

Remember those Mr. and Little Miss books by Roger Hargreaves? I just saw Mr. Grumpy in my son's book order form. I loved those guys! My favorite was Mr. Tickle, but now that I think about it, maybe he was kind of a creep. My nostalgic emotions almost made me buy the Mr. Grumpy book.

time travel

Trying to fully comprehend the concept of time travel as it is layed out in this novel gives me what my husband refers to as "tetris brain". If anyone has ever played way too much tetris in one sitting, they know what i'm talking about. This guy, Henry, travels back in time, sometimes visiting his past self, hanging out. His body disappears from the present. It makes me wonder how many of him can time travel at once. This question has not been addressed in the book yet.
I just read a scene where his 38 year old self visited his 28 year old self. His 28 year old self was jealous of the older self because he was already everything that he was and more. Henry was concerned that his wife, Clare, (who is accustomed to his frequent disappearances and appearances) would prefer to spend time with his older self because they know each other better. He has been visiting her since she was 6; he was as old as 40. What would you do if you met your older self?

fiction

After a somewhat lame attempt at searching, I have come to the conclusion that the two previously mentioned books do not exist.
There have always been little tidbits of seemingly factual information in any of the Douglas Coupland novels I have read as well, and I always just assumed them to be actual factual. I believe it is time to reconsider these assumptions.

skin

I am currently reading The Time Traveler's Wife by Audrey Niffenegger.


Page 130 mentions a book made out of human skin called The Chronicles of Nawat Wuzeer Hyderabed, found in the the palace of the King of Delhi in 1857. Page 131 mentions a cannibal cookbook called The Raw and the Cooked. I wonder if these are real books. I will investigate.