LUNA

 Sharon Butala. LUNA. Harper, 1988.

Enjoyed reading this story of the lives of women in rural Saskatchewan at the end of the 20th century. Although the emphasis on community feels a bit romanticized, and the emphasis on the inability to make a living in agriculture is a bit dismal, the variety of reactions from the variety of women, of all ages, is enlightening. As is the unimaginative, often dismissive attitude of the men towards their wives and daughters and the assumption that only the man makes the decisions.

I did feel that the cramped format of the book was rushed and did not do the novel justice. It seemed to lack room to breathe or space to pause and take stock. The plot about an unplanned teen pregnancy made me even more glad to have matured after the invention of the pill although I do agree with one of the narrator's points, that even when we know, many important truths are not transmitted from one generation to the next in time, before it is too late. Another kind of cultural failure.

The descriptions of the natural setting are achingly beautiful. 

Found this copy in the bargain bins outside the Bookman.

Leonard Cohen: The Mystical Roots of Genius

 Harry Freedman. LEONARD COHEN: The MYSTICAL ROOTS of GENIUS. Bloomsbury, 2021.

A gift, found at the library books for sale section. Lovely close reading of several lyrics with an exploration of Biblical and specifically Jewish cultural sources, myths, legends, truths. Some I have already incorporated into my latest WIP. He translates Bonsecour (literally good help, succour) as consolation. Lovely. 

One or two hesitancies on my part. I felt that the writer, a Jewish Brit, has never been to Montreal and does not grasp the extreme Christian symbolism of the city and how it could easily make outsiders feel excluded, especially in the 1950s and 60s. Although he mentions the role Rumi played in Cohen's sources, he never makes the connection when discussing "there's a crack in everything" quote, an image Rumi also uses. Perhaps the Jewish source pre-dates Rumi. And his discussing the image of the snake with its own tail in its mouth, does not use the term ouroborous, ancient, paradox, image of infinity & interpreted by Jung as the basic mandala of alchemy.

I love hearing how Leonard is revered in Europe. THis book was to me a gift of divination.