1. Grab the book closest to you.
2. Open to page 123, go down to the fifth sentence.
3. Post the text of next 3 sentences on your blog.
4. Name of the book and the author.
5. Tag three people.
Okay, so here goes:
"Yes, I, my master, Honored Lord Bupati," said my mouth, and like a machine my hands were raised in obeisance for the umpteenth time and my heart cursed for I don't know how many times now.
"You! Why have you come only now?" his voice emerged more clearly from his throat, which was suffering the end of a bout of influenza.
The book is the classic This Earth of Mankind by the late Indonesian author Pramoedya Ananta Toer, whose life story is fascinating: raised in Java, worked for, then against, the Japanese in WWII, then joined the resistance against the Dutch, then became a leading light in the new nation of Indonesia. Slapped in jail by Suharto, narrated his four volume epic to his fellow prisoners before being granted writing materials. Finally released to house arrest, then altogether. Died this spring.
I won't tag anyone either, but I'm curious to know what you're reading.
5 comments:
I have a variation on this I want to try: quoting some brief passages from great progressive books. Transcription is a pain, but I found I have this voice recognition softeware in my new computer, and I can do a reasonable job of reading the text and having it appear transcribed, with only minor needs for revision.
Maybe I'm just looking for a reason to play with a new toy, I dunno.
You only posted two sentences. ;->
I'm reading Prince of the Marshes by Rory Stewart, and when I need a break from Iraqi politics/families/tribes, I read J. D. Robb's Confusion in Death, which is a heck of a lot more fun and sexy.
I did it! Here is what I'm reading
Hopefully the link will work :)
You only posted two sentences. ;->
Hmmm. "You!" is a sentence, in my book.
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