Thursday, October 22, 2009

Name That Novel #12

Contemporary Fiction; well-known author and novel. Title and author, if you will.

Who am I? And how, I wonder, will this story end?

The sun has come up and I am sitting by a window that is foggy with the breath of a life gone by. I'm a sight this morning: two shirts, heavy pants, a scarf wrapped twice around my neck and tucked into a thick sweater knitted by my daughter thirty birthdays ago. The thermostat in my room is set as high as it will go, and a smaller space heater sits directly behind me. It clicks and groans and spews hot air like a fairytale dragon, and still my body shivers with a cold that will never go away, a cold that has been eighty years in the making. Eighty years, I think sometimes, and despite my own acceptance of my age, it still amazes me that I haven't been warm since George Bush was president. I wonder if this is how it is for everyone my age.

My life? It isn't easy to explain. It has not been the rip-roaring spectacular I fancied it would be, but neither have I burrowed around with the gophers. I suppose it has most resembled a blue-chip stock: fairly stable, more ups than downs, and gradually trending upward over time. A good buy, a lucky buy, and I've learned that not everyone can say this about his life. But do not be misled. I am nothing special; of this I am sure. I am a common man with common thoughts, and I've led a common life. There are no monuments dedicated to me and my name will soon be forgotten, but I've loved another with all my heart and soul, and to me, this has always been enough.

And may the best reader win! :-)

Congrats to JW for answering: The Notebook by Nicholas Sparks

4 comments:

Cara Powers said...

I am afraid that I'm absolutely sure that I haven't read this book. Can't wait to see which it is.

Unknown said...

I can't believe I know this. I'm so embarrassed.

The Notebook by Nicholas Sparks.

Now I shall hang my head in shame for knowing such a feminine masterpiece.

Author and Reader said...

Woohoo! JW wins the prize :-) And have no shame! Obviously, you are comfortable and confident in your masculinity for not hiding the answer.

Unknown said...

I read that book and loved it, but I would not have won even if I had read this post before JW and his "shameful" confession. You see, I suffer from a rare condition that hits in your late decades of life and I can't remember anything if I have slept since then. I'm sure you have heard of it, it's called being old. Anyway, in all seriousness, that's for stopping by my blog and leaving such nice words!
Cheers!
C