Memories of old friends/lovers. The end of a relationship and the feelings of loss that can follow and linger for a long, long time. Memories of old friends/lovers are a great source of inspiration for writers. Think of The Great Gatsby, The Myth of You and Me by Leah Stewart, The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini and The Gunners by Rebecca Kauffman. And there are plenty of songs about the topic, for example: "Someone Like You" by Adele and "Crying over You" by Roy Orbison.
For writers, the nature of memory is a particularly rich seam to mine. It often seems to me that memories are rather like the photos we take on a pleasant spring afternoon. Later, we upload them to our computers and set to work on them. We can highlight them, crop the bits we don't want, remove red eye and soften our skin texture so that we look younger. As time goes by, we forget or discard the unedited pic and we come to believe that our edited pic was the original. How young and handsome we were! Oh, God, I have aged... Most memories are like these edited pics. No wonder we often look back and fall for the illusion that life was better back then or how happy we were, and so on and so on...
One of my favourite books on lost love (at least it was when I read it over 40 years ago) is Le Grand Meaulnes by Alain Fournier. It tells the story of 17-year-old Augustin Meaulnes and how he loses his way on a solitary excursion through the countryside. He stumbles over a dilapidated manor house where a celebration is taking place. He meets Yvonne de Galais, a girl of wondrous beauty. When the party breaks up, Meaulnes leaves and goes home. Despite his feelings, he is unable to retrace the route to the manor house, which he now associates with perfect happiness.
I was moved to reflect on the end of relationships while recently watching a talent show at the local international school. One girl had written a song and sang it (very well, I would add). The song was dedicated to two friends who had recently left the school. The singer could not have been more than 15. Let's suppose that, in 20 years time, someone asks her why she was moved to write the song and sing it in public. Perhaps the singer will be unable to express an answer. Perhaps there is only one response to such a question. "Because it was me; because it was them; because we happened to be here at the same time."
Because it was me; because it was you. This could be the title of my next novel.
I would want to read a book with that title 😉
Posted by: TINA | 03/18/2018 at 10:13 PM