I didn’t know anything about this book before I read it, so the book was able to affect me fully. Now, things like the movie have spoiled many of its themes, but the book captures them incredibly well and with such a light touch. It’s a heartbreaking book but one well worth the read.
It taught me how literature can carry national grief. The novel doesn’t glorify war - it strips it bare. The language is sober, devastating and shaped how I understand brutality, numbness, and the fight to stay human. Once, in my hometown, there was an art installation where quotes from the book were engraved into tree trunks and scattered through the city: “A lance corporal (…) drags his shattered knees behind him; another walks to the dressing station, and over his clasped hands spill his intestines. (…) The horror can be endured as long as you simply duck your head; but it kills you if you start to think about it.”
Gotta get back to reading and writing except that I skipped my solo library date cause it's 1° I have one book on my tbr since the first week of Jan (who killed my father) but I haven't gotten around to reading it STILL! nyway :3
I've been living in Bombay for a while now, but I came home to Sikkim this winter and might I tell you it's been a zen moment. Peaceful, serene, if you're looking for some real grounding come and spend time in sikkim. This food truck sells special momo called kurkure momo. (Mum and I discovered while we were driving to nowhere)
