From Ritual To Romance

[poliphilo]

I raced to finish the Penguin collection of Balzac short stories last night.  It's due back at the library today and I'd feel I'd suffered some sort of moral defeat if I had to renew it. Don't ask me why. It's compulsions like this that make life interesting.

It's like how I have to eat my breakfast croissant off the same flowery-patterned plate every morning. There's only one plate like it in our collection and I've reserved it for my especial use. I've got a similar thing going with mugs. Ailz says it's because I'm selfish and won't share. I think it's got more to do with ritual.



Anyway, as a result of last night's sprint I've got three more stories to blog.

La Messe d'Athee: People are full of surprises. The austere, atheist surgeon attends mass at St Sulplice four times a year. Horace Bianchon sets out to discover why.

Facino Cane: Cane is a blind musician who once- so he says- escaped from a Venetian prison- just like Casanova. There's a part of Balzac that wants to be Dumas.

Pierre Grassou: An even-handed portrait of a very bad painter who also happens to be a thoroughly nice bloke. 

22 down, 69 to go...

Comments

[suemars.livejournal.com]

i do that, i have a special tea glass, it looks very similar to all the others but has a lip around the top. it seems sturdier than the rest.

[poliphilo.livejournal.com]

I guess I picked this particular plate because it's a one-off. If it got broken I might well have to go out and buy myself another one- equally unique.

[pondhopper.livejournal.com]

I understand about the mugs very well. We must have two dozen different coffee mugs but there are only 3 I will actually use and I alternate those on a schedule. Ritual it is!

[poliphilo.livejournal.com]

It's a way of ordering the chaos of everyday life.

[shullie.livejournal.com]

you have me curious now.. off to the library on Monday. I love certain plates I have and I do have a mug of my own.. and woe betide anyone who uses it!!

[poliphilo.livejournal.com]

Balzac's short stories are very varied- and a good place to start.

Everyone ought to have their own personal mug- preferably handthrown and with their name painted on the side. :)

[mummm.livejournal.com]

I kind of do that with my mugs, but I don't think I would deny their use to anyone else... I do have a frozen pink one though, now that I think about it, and it's definitely MINE.