Dear Book Publishers,
If you know what book that phrase is from I give you all the literary points, because I just stumbled across it in a book I once loved and now I’m laughing like a loon. Literally. I’ve got a serious case of the chuckles. “But she lifted her eyes, shining with all the love rapture of countless generations, and looked into his. He wanted no other answer.” Taken out of context, that sounds really really weird. And uncomfortable.
I read that book when I was probably about ten. If you know the book you’ll get why that’s okay.
But what I’m really thankful for was that there was a period of time where this was considered excellent prose, highly publishable, and one of the best books of a generation. A best seller. Today? You’d never sell a book with a sentence like that unless it was a mildly cheesy romance.
Personally I prefer the starker, less flowery writing of today but it’s phenomenal to go back and look at what once has been and the evolution of writing.
I scroll back through the pages, inhaling their dusty scent, and wondering what untold treasures are lurking in the folds of every neatly pressed and well read tome. For within the sacred depths of these blessed gifts from a bygone era, long forgotten in humanity’s endless striations towards a more glorious future, lie the heart and soul of mankind itself, with all it’s follies and temptations.
Wrote that without using a thesaurus once thank you very much.
But thank you book and old publishers for the smiles, the memory, and the changes. Thank you for changing as humanity changes and not restricting to the same writing again and again. We can each find what we enjoy best.
With most splendorous regards,
Aria
PS The Book is ‘Anne of the Island’ by LM Montgomery which is of course the third book in the Anne of Green Gables series.
Five Minute Thanks 