夜聆马勒第九

 Title：Late Night Thoughts on Listening to Mahler’s Ninth Symphony
 Author: Thomas, Lewis (1913- 1993)
 New York : Penguin Group, 1983, c1980
 168 p.
 Read by: 2/26/2013, my collection
 Genre: Non-Fiction

I am surprised I chewed this book up. On the other day I asked my hubby if the book Puccini he recommended is of any literary value for me to read, he couldn’t answer, because he never paid attention. He is more attracted by the content and hard facts a book presents, that’s why he enjoys reading historical and biographical books. I am the opposite, the vehicle that carries the content is equally or more important to me, that’s why fictions and memoirs are more appealing. The author of this book is a physician, with great respect and concerns for science and music. The seven wonders he listed for modern world are: bacteria, oncideres (what is it?), scrapie virus, olfactory receptor cell, termite, and human child. Now you know where the author came from. He is quite a thinker, but he failed me over half of the time on his thoughts. On dry topics like his, I need much lubrication, just as we need lotion for our winter skin. The supposedly most poetic and the last essay in the book is “Late Night Thoughts on Listening to Mahler’s Ninth Symphony”. Guess what it is about? Nuclear bombs. Arggg!