My sentiments exactly
He did not consider if or how or why he loved them. They were just love: they were the first evidence he ever had of love, and they would be the last confirmation of love when everything else fell away.- Zadie Smith, On Beauty
That is the most beautiful description of sibling love I have ever read. I'm not yet finished with the novel, but I was so struck by what Smith had written that I just had to post that quote. And if only for that passage, I will give the book a glowing review when I'm done.
My first evidence and last confirmation of love:
posted by Ailee Through the Looking Glass @ 11:06 AM
2 comments
2 Comments:
Posting the entire paragraph from the book, because it really is so beautifully written:
"The Belsey children repaired to a nearby cafe. They sat on stools lined up against the windowpane, looking out over the blasted heath of Boston Common. They caught up with each other's news casually, leaving long, cosy gaps of silence in which to go to work on their muffins and coffees. Jerome—after two months of having to be witty and brilliant in a strange town among strangers—appreciated the gift of it. People talk about the happy quiet that can exist between two lovers, but this too was great; sitting between his sister and his brother, saying nothing, eating. Before the world existed, before it was populated, and before there were wars and jobs and colleges and movies and clothes and opinions and foreign travel—before all of these things there had been only one person, Zora, and only one place: a tent in the living room made from chairs and bed-sheets. After a few years, Levi arrived; space was made for him; it was as if he had always been. Looking at them both now, Jerome found himself in their finger joints and neat conch ears, in their long legs and wild curls. He heard himself in their partial lisps caused by puffy tongues vibrating against slightly noticeable buckteeth. He did not consider if or how or why he loved them. They were just love: they were the first evidence he ever had of love, and they would be the last confirmation of love when everything else fell away."
:)
It's so nice to know someone else appreciated that part! =D
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