Anne Frank — Het achterhuis: Dagboekbrieven van 12 juni 1942–1 augustus 1944

12 juni 1942. Ik zal hoop ik aan jou alles kunnen toevertrouwen, zoals ik het nog aan niemand gekund heb, en ik hoop dat je een grote steun voor me zult zijn.

The monomyth is divided in several stages, which I won't go into here. If you want more, there's a practical guide to the hero's journey, that originated as a memo in the movie industry. Which should come as no surprise, because aren't they in the business of telling stories that appeal to as wide an audience as possible? You can imagine how a framework that has developed autonomously in numerous cultures from all over the world would be helpful in achieving that aim.

Back to the book. I included it on my list of 40 books to read before my 40th birthday because it's basic premise, all myth boils down to the same thing is relevant to my interests. There are many parallels between current religious myth and all those that have now been degraded to ye-olde fairy tales of yore—I mean, it's not as if virgin births and/or resurrections are unique to christian mythology—and I thought it would be informative to read some more about that. And that it was. It also reminded me why I don't usually read non-fiction: the parts between the abundant examples of the various myths can be dry as a very dry thing.

Joseph Campbell — The Hero with a Thousand Faces

The truths contained in religious doctrines are after all so distorted and systematically disguised, writes Sigmund Freud, that the mass of humanity cannot recognize them as truth. […] —from the preface.

J.D. Salinger's The Catcher in the Rye is a bunch of fun. Chewing the fat over old Holden Caulfield. I can see why this novel is considered a classic. Because it is.

J.D. Salinger — The Catcher in the Rye

If you really want to hear about it, the first thing you'll probably want to know is where I was born, and what my lousy childhood was like, and how my parents were occupied and all before they had me, and all that David Copperfield kind of crap, but I don't feel like going into it, if you want to know the truth.

Niet dat De avonden een slecht boek is. 't Is eerder dat een beschrijving van een tien avonden eind 1947 waarin weinig interessants gebeurt per definitie niet heel spannend zal zijn. En dan heb je ook nog de overwegend onuitstaanbare "held" van de geschiedenis. Godverkutjes, wat een lul de behanger eerste klas.

Volgens diverse recensenten zou De avonden een naargeestig boek zijn. Daar kan ik me wel in vinden. Het bezorgde mij in ieder geval een gevoel van onbehagen en jeuk op onbereikbare plaatsen als ik voor de zoveelste keer de zinsneden dacht hij of zei hij bij zichzelf voorbij zag komen.

Gerard Reve — De avonden: een winterverhaal

Het was nog donker, toen in de vroege morgen van de tweeëntwintigste december 1946 in onze stad, op de eerste verdieping van het huis Schilderskade 66, de held van deze geschiedenis, Frits van Egters, ontwaakte.

Apart from my seat — there is no legroom on the first row of the balcony — it was a marvelous experience. Given that I was not at all familiar with this particular play, three hours seemed a little daunting. But exactly the main reason I went to see this particular play made it so rewarding: the integration of Tom Waits' music. Not that I'm at all familiar with his work, but the combination worked effortlessly. You see, Richard III is about obsession with power and descend into madness. And for that, Waits' songs, in all their sprawling chaos, is a great fit. Sure, the singing wasn't top notch, but then again, Tom Waits isn't a great singer. So the acting was great, the music was great, and visually it was sparse but effective. The stage ended up a grandiose mess. It was a great way to spend an evening.

Seen Live: Orkater, Richard III at Stadsschouwburg Amsterdam on August 16th, 2006

Last night I went to the Concertgebouw in Amsterdam (related item on the list — #70: see a concert in the Concertgebouw) where the Orkest van het Oosten performed Beethoven's choral symphony. And by the beard of Wodan, how epic was that? Well, imagine seeing something incredibly epic, triple that, add an additional dose of awesome and then you're halfway there.

And while I am so totally not downplaying the first three movement—they are completely awesome—how totally off the charts is it when in the fourth movement everything just stops, and a single voice implores you not to sing those tones, but rather something more joyous? And then, another voice starts Schiller's An die Freude, an ode to joy:

Freude, schöner Götterfunken,
Tochter aus Elysium,
Wir betreten feuertrunken,
Himmlische, dein Heiligthum!
Deine Zauber binden wieder,
Was die Mode streng geteilt;
Alle Menschen werden Brüder,
Wo dein sanfter Flügel weilt.

Try stop whistling that. I dare you. I've got several parts of that stuck in my head, on repeat. There are worse things to have there.

This was such an excellent experience, that I might just need to do that again someday.

Incidentally, last night's concert was broadcasted live on Radio 4, and is available for streaming.

Seen Live:
Orkest van het Oosten, Consensus Vocalis, Jan Willem de Vriend (conductor), Ronald Brautigam (fortepiano), Annemarie Kremer (soprano), Wilke te Brummelstroete (alto), Marcel Reijans (tenor) and Geert Smits (bass) at the Concertgebouw, Amsterdam on July 19, 2011
Setlist:
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart - Piano Concerto No. 17 in G major, KV. 453
Ludwig Van Beethoven - Symphony No. 9 in D minor, Op. 125

The only inhabitant of West Egg not to enjoy Jay Gatsby's legendary parties is Jay Gatsby. The one girl he seeks to impress with them is already married. Glamorous, dangerous, hopeful and desperately in love, Gatsby's naive dreams can only lead to destruction.

Don't worry that this back cover blurb gives away the ending. The journey there is still worth it.

F. Scott Fitzgerald — The Great Gatsby

In my younger and more vulnerable years my father gave me some advice that I've been turning over in my mind ever since.

As a novel of ideas, Brave New World is much more interesting. Huxley describes a society where everything that faintly resembles individualism has been abolished in favor of stability. Quite interesting.

Aldous Huxley — Brave New World

A squat grey building of only thirty-four stories.

Hoewel ik veel lees, lees ik verdacht weinig Nederlandstalige boeken. Laat staan Nederlandstalige fictie. En klassiekers in dat genre zijn er genoeg, dus kwam er voor mijn doen veel Nederlands op de lijst. W.F. Hermans, Ferdinand Bordewijk, Gerard Reve, Nescio—menigeen zal ze kennen van de boekenlijst op de middelbare school. Maar ik zo de pest in het verplicht moeten lezen dat ik er alles er aan deed er zo makkelijk mogelijk vanaf te komen. Om vijftien jaar later er toch alsnog aan te beginnen. Omdat het kan.

Nescio's verhalen De uitvreter en Titaantjes zijn al sinds jaar en dag aan elkaar gekoppeld, en staan vooral op de lijst vanwege hun openingszinnen. Later werd aan deze bundel ook de novelle Dichtertje en een serie schetsen onder de titel Mene tekel toegevoegd. Verhaaltechnisch doet het me allemaal niet veel, maar taalkundig gezien is het genieten.

Nescio — De uitvreter

Behalve den man, die de Sarphatistraat de mooiste plek van Europa vond heb ik nooit een wonderlijker kerel gekend dan den uitvreter.

Nescio — Titaantjes

Jongens waren we — maar aardige jongens. Al zeg ik 't zelf.