Monday, October 27, 2008
Friday, October 03, 2008
Hidden Connections
Of Coincidence
Bizarre ending to Moon Palace. M.S.'s father (Julian Barber) died from tripping and falling into an open grave. Eventually, M.S. gave up his search for the elusive cave, walked off into the sun, much like cowboys do in westerns.
Not the first time Auster killed off important characters in a whim near the end. Much like Auster's other books, this one had been a bizarre journey littered with strange, almost surreal occurrences. Memorable scenes in the book - There is this one part whereby M.S. imagined his father being at several places he had been before. That he may have unknowingly ran into him on several occasions. He even 'placed' Julian Barber in Vegas, that his father could have been one of the audience of Uncle Victor's band performance. He began to see hidden connections everywhere. Another is M.S. reading off the books left behind by Uncle Victor as a way of mourning him. Also, carting Thomas Effing through the streets of New York in the rainy night to distribute money to 'deserving' strangers. These scenes will always be memorable to me.
Coincidences do happen in real life but they're often dismissed or viewed as out-of-place. You almost can't find them in an abundance in books or movies anymore. Weird coincidences do happen to all of us. Somehow the intentional 'imperfect' ending of the book takes you back to a modern reality. The world is imperfect, why should we expect logical endings in books? The world stays the same, only we have changed from experiences accrued. The journey is what counts.
No coincidence too that I tried to tackle this subject early on, made this stupid short-film back in school, aptly titled Coincidence Inc. :) These are difficult topics to explore- The effects of deja vu. How can you be certain that you haven't encountered this person before? And to merge the ideas of Coincidence with Religion.
Coincidence, Failure, the Search for (or absence of) a Father (figure) are recurring themes in many of his books. I think that is the reason why I can relate to them. Essentially, Auster is telling almost the same story in all his books.
Halfway through another book, Oracle's Night. It is an ongoing process to understand who the writer Paul Auster is. Consequently, hoping to be able to pick up pieces of myself along the way. To better understand who I am.
Of J. B. Jeyaretnam
Another coincidence that I met Mr. JBJ in person just months ago at the lift lobby of Tan Tock Seng Hospital. A pretty tall, charismatic individual. First time I've ever seen the man in person. Maybe he was there for his heart checkup. An Indian woman, in her 50s or 60s, was waiting for the lift too. She smiled, almost shyly, at JBJ. JBJ acknowledged with an amiable smile and a nod. To me, it was a very genuine smile that seemed to say, "Don't worry. I will carry on the fight for all of you." While most current government officials seemed perched at seemingly unreachable places, it is gratifying to know there is someone who stood right by our side.
I just realised that was also around the time he would be busy constructing his comeback into politics, the formation of the Reform Party. Rest in peace.
Bizarre ending to Moon Palace. M.S.'s father (Julian Barber) died from tripping and falling into an open grave. Eventually, M.S. gave up his search for the elusive cave, walked off into the sun, much like cowboys do in westerns.
Not the first time Auster killed off important characters in a whim near the end. Much like Auster's other books, this one had been a bizarre journey littered with strange, almost surreal occurrences. Memorable scenes in the book - There is this one part whereby M.S. imagined his father being at several places he had been before. That he may have unknowingly ran into him on several occasions. He even 'placed' Julian Barber in Vegas, that his father could have been one of the audience of Uncle Victor's band performance. He began to see hidden connections everywhere. Another is M.S. reading off the books left behind by Uncle Victor as a way of mourning him. Also, carting Thomas Effing through the streets of New York in the rainy night to distribute money to 'deserving' strangers. These scenes will always be memorable to me.
Coincidences do happen in real life but they're often dismissed or viewed as out-of-place. You almost can't find them in an abundance in books or movies anymore. Weird coincidences do happen to all of us. Somehow the intentional 'imperfect' ending of the book takes you back to a modern reality. The world is imperfect, why should we expect logical endings in books? The world stays the same, only we have changed from experiences accrued. The journey is what counts.
No coincidence too that I tried to tackle this subject early on, made this stupid short-film back in school, aptly titled Coincidence Inc. :) These are difficult topics to explore- The effects of deja vu. How can you be certain that you haven't encountered this person before? And to merge the ideas of Coincidence with Religion.
Coincidence, Failure, the Search for (or absence of) a Father (figure) are recurring themes in many of his books. I think that is the reason why I can relate to them. Essentially, Auster is telling almost the same story in all his books.
Halfway through another book, Oracle's Night. It is an ongoing process to understand who the writer Paul Auster is. Consequently, hoping to be able to pick up pieces of myself along the way. To better understand who I am.
Of J. B. Jeyaretnam
Another coincidence that I met Mr. JBJ in person just months ago at the lift lobby of Tan Tock Seng Hospital. A pretty tall, charismatic individual. First time I've ever seen the man in person. Maybe he was there for his heart checkup. An Indian woman, in her 50s or 60s, was waiting for the lift too. She smiled, almost shyly, at JBJ. JBJ acknowledged with an amiable smile and a nod. To me, it was a very genuine smile that seemed to say, "Don't worry. I will carry on the fight for all of you." While most current government officials seemed perched at seemingly unreachable places, it is gratifying to know there is someone who stood right by our side.
I just realised that was also around the time he would be busy constructing his comeback into politics, the formation of the Reform Party. Rest in peace.
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