This week's duel between book and audio book is almost as strange as
last week's. My choices are unusually gory for me, but work as restorative escapism seriously needed.
I can't seem to quit reading
The Hypnotist even though there are no likeable characters, the crimes are incredibly gruesome, and the writing makes me feel like I have a groggy flu. That could be the effect of a collaboration read in translation, or maybe I should take my temperature.
In the car, I can't log enough miles listening to
Empire of the Summer Moon. Since the audio book has eighteen cds, it may run longer than my old Buick has miles left. The history of the Comanches and Quanah Parker is also full of
torture of captives and horrible cruelty.
Both books are full of depredation, deprivation, and depravity. I hauled out the Big Red Dictionary, but to save time this morning I'll go with the Online Etymology Dictionary information:
- depredation
late 15c., from M.Fr. déprédation, from L.L. depraedationem (nom. depraedatio) "a plundering," from pp. stem of L. depraedari "to pillage," from de- "thoroughly" (see de-) + praedari "to plunder," lit. "to make prey of," from praeda "prey" (see prey).
- deprave late 14c., "corrupt, lead astray, pervert," from O.Fr. depraver (14c.) or directly from L. depravare "distort, disfigure;" figuratively "to pervert, seduce, corrupt," from de- "completely" (see de-) + pravus"crooked." Related: Depraved; depraving.
- depravity 1640s; see deprave + -ity. Earlier in same sense was pravity, from L. pravitas.
- deprivation mid-15c., "removal from office or position," from M.L. deprivationem (nom. deprivatio), noun of action from pp. stem of deprivare (see deprive).
- deprived 1550s, "dispossessed," pp. adj. from deprive. As a euphemism for the condition of children who lack a stable home life, by 1945.
So, in this literary week of plunder and perversion, I will close with two lighter notes. First you may need the lyrics for "Dear Officer Krupke" from "West Side Story".
DIESEL: (Spoken, as Judge) In the opinion on this court, this child is depraved on account he ain't had a normal home. ACTION: (Spoken) Hey, I'm depraved on account I'm deprived.
Second, it pleased me no end to hear that my neighbor's little girl somehow got her Halloween wig stuck in a ceiling fan. These things happen!
© 2011 Nancy L. Ruder
2 comments:
So many reactions to this! 1) I love the idea of a book outlasting a car (but I am sorry for your car) 2) Gee, Officer Krupke, Krup you! 3) I do not want to imagine the circumstances involving the ceiling fan, but it sounds like a scene in the gory first book.
My verification word for today, which has the West Side Story song about Officer Krupke in the background, is "upper."
I'm pretty sure the wig incident was more post-trick/treating sibling sugar highjinks than Scandinavian noir gore.
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