Amina Pi > Recent Status Updates

Still enjoying the book but, man... did you have to make Patroclus such a Bella, come on.

I haven’t been claimed by a story like this in years. It feels less like reading and more like stepping into a myth and letting the Fates close the thread behind me. I forgot how much I missed belonging to a book.

All time is all time. It does not change. It does not lend itself to warnings or explanations. It simply is. Take it moment by moment, and you will find that we are all, as I've said before, bugs in amber.

And Lot's wife, of course, was told not to look back where all those people and their homes had been. But she did look back, and I love her for that, because it was so human. So, she was turned into a pillar of salt. So, it goes.

To look is to witness, and to witness is to make meaning; yet how long can we stand there before we harden? To look or not to look?

Looking forward to reading more.

If anything, I can always count on Ishiguro to bring forth an interesting premise and atmosphere. Looking forward to reading more.

This is my fifth and probably for some time final book of his as my city library doesn't carry any more of Ishiguro's works. Not sure I can articulate what kept me coming back to him as I haven't really felt like any of the previous books I've read ever hit fully home for me. Yet there's obviously something in his writing and ideas that made me come back. Excited to dig into this one and see how it compares.

"I tell you, Ahmet Shabo, go fishing!"

The further I read, the heavier these words become.

I feel Selimović’s work in every line; the way he explores human greatness and misery, the way love and thought wrestle with authority, suffering and hope.

Out of moral struggle and historical weight emerges a beautifully constructed, utterly tragic hero; greatness and misery bound together, urging me onward.

Fifteen years ago, I was captivated by how Selimović could compress such depth and meaning into a simple words. Returning to The Fortress, I uncover layers I once overlooked and see with new clarity why it lingered in me: its wisdom speaks to everyone, and from a Balkan perspective, its significance becomes even more apparent.

The greatest wisdom in life is to find a true folly.
I tell you, Ahmet Shabo, go fishing!

Fifteen years ago, I was captivated by how Selimović could compress such depth and meaning into a simple words. Returning to The Fortress, I uncover layers I once overlooked and see with new clarity why it lingered in me: its wisdom speaks to everyone, and from a Balkan perspective, its significance becomes even more apparent.

The greatest wisdom in life is to find a true folly.
I tell you, Ahmet Shabo, go fishing!

First read this 15 years ago, curious to see how my feelings and perceptions have changed. Let's dive in.

I have just now found out that this book precedes The Remains of the Day (my most recent Ishiguro read) by three years or so. The similarities are striking in many ways, but so far, I am finding it to be a much smoother, interest-sparking read than TRotD was. Can't put my finger on why exactly still. But I am looking forward to seeing how it develops.