If Nobody Speaks of Remarkable Things by Jon McGregorMy rating: 5 of 5 stars
This book speaks to me so much as it is the way I often feel about things. At it's beginning, we know that something of huge import will happen in the story as we see and hear from the wide variety of people in a neighborhood. We see and hear their interaction with one another as well as hear their own thoughts. Several of the characters are dealt with more in depth by revealing happenings in their lives prior to just the one day the book entails.
Several times the writer has us on the edge, ready for an apparent scene of tragedy or turmoil, only to be relieved that it does not happen yet. His writing leads us to surmise upcoming events, all the while leaving us in suspense as to what the final outcome will bring. When the big event does occur, he brings together all the various thoughts and actions of all those we have come to know in this story.
His title reminds us that every single thing that happens each day is remarkable in it's own way and that it is our place to see each thing and make them ours by really knowing them. A bird flying high, a child at play, the street sounds, the rain, the interactions among people, all are profound in the hands of McGregor.
So many things are happening all the time all around us. We are encouraged to step out of our own circle and see those remarkable things.
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I wasn't familiar with McGregor until I read this review. It's always interesting that a book can be read on so many levels; he apparently has a good story here but expresses his philosophy so clearly through it. So often we plod through our days without remembering to savor them. It's in the everyday details of life that we forget; it's those everyday details that we remember as we grow older. How refreshing to see someone besides me who gets something very personal out of literature. In my years of teaching I didn't always see that in my students. I did, however, always see that in myself.
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