I'm in the process of laying a ghost to rest by picking up a book I picked up 20 years or so ago and never finished despite many attempts. The first thoughts that come to mind as I pass through the opening chapters is how swiftly and radically our lives have changed since Jude's time. The 'boy' Jude walks three or four miles just to catch a glimpse of Christminster (Oxford) some 16 or so miles further away. I had a professor at Kyoto University who told me that when he was a young boy just after World War Two, his one wish was that he could visit Tokyo (some 400 km away from his home town) just once before he died. Express trains and then bullet trains fulfilled his wishes many times over. Now, some 50 years further down the timeline, I find myself helping the boys do their Australian school homework over the phone and am getting read to welcome them back from their 6,000 plus kilometer journey next week. What price lunar occupation in another 100 years?
(I'll have something more interesting to say on the novel - I hope - when I've read a bit more.)
Posted by Joe at September 3, 2003 11:00 PM