Almost ideal

Saturday, October 21st., Fulham Park Gardens, London.

This morning, leisurely reading up for a 3000 word article with which I am to celebrate for the Academy the approaching completion of Mrs. Garnett's translation of the works of Turgenev, I spent four hours in what seemed to me almost an ideal way. I was not hurreid. I had books heaped about me. I allowed ideas slowly to germinate in my head. It was calmer, less exciting than creative composition.

Tonight, for a change, I composed the crudest funny song which Marriott is to sing at  Christmas to make us laugh at Burslem - a lyric about Sissie's baby.

I woke at about 4 this morning and found that I was thinking about Richard Powers' latest novel "The Overstory", which I finished reading a couple of weeks ago. It has been in my head from time to time since then. To me, that is the mark of a good book! Impressive how he imagines a range of characters, makes them all 'real', and then weaves their lives together. A deeply pessimistic book about the impact of humans on the planet, focussing on trees, but just as relevant in terms of almost all other forms of life. My only criticism is that I found the ending just a little vague. It seemed apparent, and appropriate, to me that the culmination of the novel would be an acknowledgement that humans are the problem and will never be the solution, but my sense was that he drew back from this just a little. I really need to re-read so as to make sure I had the right end of the stick. 

I must write to May Beardmore whose birthday it must soon be, though I have never been able to get the exact date clear in my head. She will be interested to hear that the life of a professional novelist suits me very well. Though sometimes a strain, it has its advantages, not least short hours!