Soon I'm going to be lazing around the Amalfi Coast. I am so excited. It's going to be short trip (3 nights, 4 days) and I have many things planned:
- A day exploring caves on the island of Capri, which has been a resort since the time of the Roman Republic.
- A day driving along the Amalfi Coast, stopping off at the Villa Cimbrone in Ravello and Positano etc.
- A day looking around Pompei and Herculaneum
And... a day in Napoli (where love is king)...
J'ai hâte d'y aller!
I am currently reading "Ham on Rye" by Bukowski. I had never read anything by him before, but had heard various people discussing his works before. While the quality of his works may be debated, his influence as the "laureate of American lowlife" (Time Magazine) never been disputed. The novel focuses on the life of Henry Chinaski, Bukowski's alter ego - a boy from a poor background growing up during the Depression, suffering from loneliness and a particularly bad case of acne.
The book is written in an extremely forward style, which helps depict vivid images of the era and Henry's suffering. The book seems to have many parallels with Georg Samsa ('Metamorphosis' - Kafka) and to some extent Meursault ('L'Etranger - Camus):
- the absurdity of the human race and perhaps,
- the need to fit into society (and whatever that may mean...)
- the alienation and resulting from a "monstrous" appearance
