I’ll give you countless amounts of outright acceptance if you want it / I will give you encouragement to choose the path that you want if you need it / You can speak of anger and doubts your fears and freak outs and I’ll hold it / You can share your so-called shame filled accounts of times in your life and I won’t judge it / (and there are no strings attached to it)
– You Owe Me Nothing In Return by Alanis Morissette
The New York Times review of Astrid & Veronika is pretty spot-on.
Although I loved the book, it was definitely and undeniably Olsson’s first–there was a line which I forgot to flag where Veronika is looking at the much older Astrid and her head reminds her both of the fragility of a baby’s and a death mask or something, and I am not kidding. Not to mention the much maligned description of summer nights in London as “warm, like velvety tepid water.”
Overall Astrid & Veronika was a lovely, quick read and I don’t have any serious complaints about it. It is a welcome addition to novels about female friendship, which as I wrote a friend, seem to be monopolized by poorly written genre fiction.
If this book ever gets the Hollywood treatment–doubtful, but you never know–Vanessa Redgrave should be cast to play Astrid, no one could do it better.
^ This title made me think of this song which is completely unrelated to the post you’re about to read–sorry!
In high school I had this theory that infuriated my friends.
Wait for it…
Maybe “love” could mean more than just romantic love.
I was ahead of my time, wasn’t I?
…Or not. Last week I couldn’t get a certain Alanis Morissette song out of my head (seriously I was humming and singing this song everywhere–at bus stops, malls, everywhere) and one of the comments on a fan video on YouTube said that the Greek have something like five different words for love. Well, Wikipedia tells me there’s four, but basically “the Greek language distinguishes how the word is used” so, basically, you can love your friend without it meaning you love your friend, see below:
Agápe (ἀγάπη agápē[1]) means “love,” such as in the term s’agapo (Σ’αγαπώ), which means “I love you.” In Ancient Greek, it often refers to a general affection or deeper sense of “true love” rather than the attraction suggested by “eros.”
Éros (ἔρως érōs[2]) is passionate love, with sensual desire and longing. The Modern Greek word “erotas” means “intimate love;” however, eros does not have to be sexual in nature. Eros can be interpreted as a love for someone whom you love more than the philia, love of friendship.
Philia (φιλία philía[3]) means affectionate regard or friendship in both ancient and modern Greek. It is a dispassionate virtuous love, a concept developed by Aristotle. It includes loyalty to friends, family, and community, and requires virtue, equality and familiarity.
Storge (στοργή storgē[4]) means “affection” in ancient and modern Greek. It is natural affection, like that felt by parents for offspring.
All that of course came from Wikipedia. …the whole concept makes me think I really need to learn Greek. Laughable, really, coming from the girl who failed to learn French.
In other news, I have been reading a lot of Brain Pickings, which may be my new favorite site. Some of my favorites include:
Oh, and if you haven’t seen the latest from Maria Popova, Explore, go, now! Go confidently in the direction of your dreams, live the life you have imagined. (Who else but Thoreau?)
Meanwhile, I’m going to go back to humming that Alanis Morissette song…
Smile, tomorrow’s the first day of May!
“…I am a writer, yet words have never come easily to me. Only with great difficulty. And only written ones.”
– Veronika from Astrid & Veronika by Linda Olsson
You may remember my friend, Bob Bowers (aka One Tough Pirate), who submitted his picture at the AIDS Quilt in Washington last summer to Kenn’s Project.
I happen to think he is so amazing everyone should “meet” him. So without further ado… Meet Bob Bowers, in the latest for Flaming Red (my blog for TheBody.com – the complete HIV/AIDS resource).
