Garrett Lowell
03-08-2005, 08:26 AM
Roger's book arrived in yesterday's mail. I started reading "Native Waters" after the house awakened, after everyone else fell asleep. The other side of midnight I finally forced myself to set it aside.
Inside, Roger describes his father's artwork as spare and elegant. I have not seen, to my knowledge, any of the Chief's art. Roger's words, though, the manner in which they are carved, wrought, crafted, cared for, are likely as close as I've come. Nearly every paragraph concludes with a profound, quotable expression. My current favorite (and there are many, just from the first 100 pages alone): "Sometimes, it is not necessary to believe in something, so long as something believes in you. "
The writing in this book is writing you feel. Ghosts are everywhere. Self-examination is prevalent and insightful. Painful honesty is nearly as hard to read as it must be to write, if only because you, the reader, must turn some small bit of light toward your own painful truths, or perhaps you overly empathize with the author. Maybe a little of both. For myself, I won't be finished with this book until I've read it over and over, across several seasons, maybe through many years.
I have yet this to say to the author: No. I don't see your ghosts. I am only just beginning to feel my own.
Inside, Roger describes his father's artwork as spare and elegant. I have not seen, to my knowledge, any of the Chief's art. Roger's words, though, the manner in which they are carved, wrought, crafted, cared for, are likely as close as I've come. Nearly every paragraph concludes with a profound, quotable expression. My current favorite (and there are many, just from the first 100 pages alone): "Sometimes, it is not necessary to believe in something, so long as something believes in you. "
The writing in this book is writing you feel. Ghosts are everywhere. Self-examination is prevalent and insightful. Painful honesty is nearly as hard to read as it must be to write, if only because you, the reader, must turn some small bit of light toward your own painful truths, or perhaps you overly empathize with the author. Maybe a little of both. For myself, I won't be finished with this book until I've read it over and over, across several seasons, maybe through many years.
I have yet this to say to the author: No. I don't see your ghosts. I am only just beginning to feel my own.