[stylist] More things to ponder

[Jacqueline Williams]

Chris,
I have read all of the books you refer to except "Middlesex." I agree with
you completely about Kingsolvers, "The Poisonwood Bible," except that its
source was that she grew up in the Congo as a minister's daughter. In that
respect she had to have had some special insights.
My experience was in being in Uganda for five years, and knowing of the
river blindness, and the worms that got into the knees from the river water.
The author completely captured the missionaries common ignorance, and
dogmatic religious beliefs no mater what wisdom the tribal cultures stood
ready to teach them. Like, no baptism in the river.
I say this even though I had a missionary uncle in Liberia for years.
Perhaps a personal story will demonstrate. I had a running bet with my
houseboy that I would eat termites, if he would eat a cucumber. Neither of
us ever did. The reason, his culture taught him rightly, that anything grown
in soil that was also used for human body waste, or had been for two years,
would make them sick. For me, I simply could not get past the thought and
texture. For them, it was an excellent source of protein. There was logic,
reason, and truth in most of there customs, except, their concept of
"instant justice" was extremely difficult to comprehend and appreciate. 
But like you, the sociopath is a fascinating track to study, and even more
so now, with our school tragedies happening. "No Conscience seems
unbelievable, until you see it in action time after time.
I do so like the way your mind works, and the things you read, not to
mention that you are an excellent editor.
Jacqui 

-----Original Message-----
From: stylist [mailto:stylist-bounces at nfbnet.org] On Behalf Of Chris Kuell
Sent: Wednesday, December 12, 2012 1:20 PM
To: Writer's Division Mailing List
Subject: Re: [stylist] More things to ponder

Jackie,

I enjoyed your poem--thanks for sharing. I also share your fascination with 
sociopaths, although I don't believe I've ever met one in person. However, I

once outlined a novel about a sociopathic politician, but it's too scary for

me to write. A great resource is: Without Conscience- The Disturbing World 
of the Psychopaths Among Us by Robert D. Hare (1999). The thing I found most

disturbing is that there's no known treatment except to lock them up.

Having said all that, we are writers, which mean we can tap into our 
imaginations. Stephen King crafted a terribly disturbing politician, and a 
hero who could see the future when he touched objects in 'The Dead Zone'. 
'Lolita' by Vladimir Nabokov is one of the best written books I've ever 
read. It's about a pedophile, and there's not a single swear or curse word 
in the entire book. And Nabokov wasn't a pedophile that I know of. 'Silence 
of the Lambs' by Thomas Harris portrayed one of the most realistic 
sociopathic killers (Hannibal Lechter) in all of modern literature. 
'Middlesex' by Jeffrey Eugenides portrays a hermaphrodite so well I felt 
certain the writer must be one, but it turns out he's just a great writer. 
One of my favorite novels, 'The Poisonwood Bible' by Barbara Kingsolver, is 
about a crazy minister sent to the Congo to convert souls, his wife, and 
four daughters. All the characters are written exquisitely, yet are products

of Kingsolver's imagination. I could go on, but won't.  I hope you see my 
point.

chris


 


_______________________________________________
Writers Division web site
http://www.writers-division.net/
stylist mailing list
stylist at nfbnet.org
http://nfbnet.org/mailman/listinfo/stylist_nfbnet.org
To unsubscribe, change your list options or get your account info for
stylist:
http://nfbnet.org/mailman/options/stylist_nfbnet.org/jackieleepoet%40cox.net