Reviewed by Gary
From the Sea, a Symphony
Reviewed by Gary From the Sea, a Symphony
"I am a traveler". With this simple statement the theme of the story is set and the reader is taken on a lyrical journey where life is a song and various parts are less harmonious than others. The traveler harkens back to a time, long passed, when he desired the stability of a profession and a family.
The poetic flow of the story early on regarding the symphony of life lulled me into a complacency from which I was wrenched out by the tale of the man in rags. When he, the narrator, strolls into a town and registers at the inn his harmony with the symphony of nature is threatened by the innkeeper, a woman who 'despite the age-engraved flesh retains the brightness of youth in her eyes'. To avoid being drawn by her he averts his eyes when registering. It seems that the obvious physical attraction is to be avoided like the plague and yet that is also one of the most compelling of life's harmonies. A harmony that keeps the perpetuation of the species.
A day at the sea seems to be the ticket to avoid the obvious and where the 'silence interweaves with eternity to compose a song of immortal remembrance. All times are contained in this song'. He see's a large group of men, silent, pale and sullen. Could it not be a group of overzealous sports fans after a rather bitter loss? Surely I jest. There is no song among this sullen group. The story changes from one of harmony to one of discord, the discord of guilt. He meets an old man in rags who registers at the inn, eats by himself and wishes it that way. He is the man who is hounded by guilt and the strange group of men. When the woman asks the man who these strange ones are he ignores her and after a second request he directs his answer at the narrator, disregarding the woman.
The writer makes good use of descriptive terms throughout the story and the surprise ending both as to the man driven by guilt and the narrator is fitting. The story ends with the stormy seas of life calm once more.
A good read and a curious one.
Reviewed by © Gary
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