Just read...

Well! I haven't read widely enough to actually comment, but what the heck, we live in a democracy and morever who has read enough - remember Avvaiyar's Katradhu kaimann alavu. So here I go gabbling, like I know.

When an author puts his/her protagonist in a situation where everything they hold dear, everything they believe in is put to question, it simply results in an Outstanding work of fiction. While the character may end up holding on to their beliefs and continue doing the same things they did before, the whole process of rethinking what they, until then took for granted is the clincher. It is after all, not the destination that counts. You may arrive at the same point that you started from, it is that journey that matters.

Many eminent authors have wielded this genre to produce aeonian works. I just finished reading one such - Richard Russo's "The Empire Falls" and like many who hoped it to be 'Star Wars' like, I discovered that the semblance ended with the title. The book is set in one of those ubiquitous, yet strangely invisible little towns, Empire Falls and the metamorphosis of one man - Miles Roby.

Excerpts from "Empire Falls". (This is about Miles Roby unrequited 'crush' on Charlene Gardner, a once-gorgeous lady)

Instead of seeing his crush on her as an occassion for ridicule - by far the most effective cure for a crush - she managed to convey that both Miles and his infatuation were sweet. She didn't encourage him to persist in his folly, but neither could she bring herself to treat his devotion as something shabby or worthless. Mockery and contempt, Miles would have understood and accepted as his due, but affection and gratitude confused him deeply. Gratitude for her kindness clouded his judgement and the proximity that she allowed him was simply too intoxicating to give up, so he convinced himself that her fondness was merely the beginning, that if given the opportunity it would metamorphose quite naturally into love.

To my friend who is sadly in pretty much the same state as Miles, I am sorry. Truth sucks. To all others, I strongly recommend this book.