Thursday, March 03, 2005

Cried Myself to Awake

"Cried" isn't really adequate. I sobbed in my bed last night (technically this morning in the wee hours). I'd committed to finishing The Time Traveler's Wife by Audrey Niffennegger and at 1 a.m. tragedy struck.

No spoilers here. I'm not revealing a thing about this well told story. Tragedy of sorts is on every fifth page or so -- the tragic reality of longing.

The two main characters are deeply in love, yet there is none of that sappiness that I usually relate to a "love" story. Though the term is never used (perhaps one of the reasons the book doesn't rate high on the sappy scale), these two might be described as soul mates. And yet because of the subject matter these who seemed destined for one another are accompanied on their journey by Longing. Often separated, they long to reunite. In the reuniting, there's the knowledge that the next departure is guaranteed and again Longing takes the stage.

The sobbing was due to many reasons -- some physical in that it was late and I was tired and some emotional in that I related well to each character . . . Henry, Clare, and Longing.

Which leads me to a question: Is longing more often due to the absence of what was or the anticipation for what will be?

2 comments:

beholdhowfree said...

Good question. And it's really nice to discover your blog out here in cyberspace. It will be a joy to follow you on your journey.

Finding the Happy said...

For me, longing is an invitation from my inner being to draw close that which I need. The trick is having the courage to answer the call from within.