For someone who loves books, I have grossly wronged my lovelies by not blogging on them yet. Well, better late then never. Well I just finished having a long conversation with my brother who lives across the ocean and as usual we started discussing books and movies and Nevil Shute.
There are a few books that leave an impression in your mind that fade but not go away. Round the Bend by Shute is one such book to me. On the surface, book tells the story of two people - Thomas Cutter, an ex-world war II pilot trying to make money by running cargo planes in the gulf and Connie Shaklin, his half-Chinese half-Russian engineer with a strange spiritual belief - that doing honest and good work is the best way to worship.
As the story progresses, Shaklin weaves his concepts of Buddhism and good work with the motions of aircraft maintenance and becomes a spiritual leader of sorts to the other mechanics. I can compare the energy of this story to another good book- "Jonathan Livingston Seagull" by Richard Bach.
He(Shaklin)has been saying that in studying the stresses and the forces in the structure of an aircraft, the thermodynamics of an engine or the flow of current in the oscillating circuits of a radio transmitter, we are but following the injunctions of Guatama (Buddha)...the world is full of suffering and pain caused by our wrong desires and hatreds and illusions, and only knowledge can remove these causes of our suffering ..."
Strange, yet compelling the story is not for everybody. Its also a very different book from Shute's other books. If one wants to start with Shute though I will suggest reading A Town Called Alice- a classic that will last a long long time
1 comment:
Yes I absolutely second the fact that books leave indelible impressions. And both Johnathan Livingstone Seagull and Illusions have done that for me. The Pilot messiah of Illusions who ultimately says good bye to barn storming and disappears on the hill had a lasting impact on me and some of my close friend.
Another personal favourite of mine is definitely Alexander McCall Smith whose simplistic observations and breezy writing makes me see the most profound in a horribly mundane life. Am currently reading his The Careful Use of Compliments. Anyone who wants to be a parent or knows a parent should read this book. To say "insightful " is to say the least!
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