“I will love you all the days of my death, however few or many they may be. As long as I can remember love, I will love you.”
“All the days of my death,” Laura repeated softly. “There aren’t many left, Michael. Our minds are like torn pockets. Think of all the things we’ve forgotten and forget every minute. Why should love be remembered any longer than any of the others?”
“Because we need it more,” he said. “Because without it, there is nothing left of us. Loving each other, we last a little longer before we forget even that we lived once. Knowing ourselves loved makes us almost human for a little while.”
Months ago, Chris (Stuff As Dreams Are Made On), sent me Peter S. Beagle’s A Fine and Private Place. I just finished reading it, and what an unusual and haunting book. Literally! Setting?… A cemetery. Main Characters?… two newly dead and buried, and one hermit finding refuge from a crazy world by secretly living in the cemetery. Reason to read?… Learn about life and about love from the perspective of the newly dead. Who can appreciate life more?
I probably shouldn’t have chosen to read this book during this hectic end-of-the-school-year time, because the flow of my reading was very disrupted and it took me a long time to get through it. But I enjoyed it because it made me think, and I found some real nuggets in it (such as the quote above). It’s actually the first book I’ve read by Peter Beagle, (as well as being Peter Beagle’s first book, written when he was 19!) so I have some really good reading ahead of me.
This is another book for Carl V’s Once Upon a Time 3 challenge. Thanks so much for sending it to me, Chris!
A Fondness For Reading 
Oh, I’m so glad you enjoyed it Robin 😀 I just love the quote that you shared. There was something about this book that just put it in a class of it’s own for me. And it’s timeless…it reads like it could’ve been written yesterday. Fantastic stuff!
LikeLike
This does sound like an interesting read. I dont doubt that we take our lessons from life into the grave. If we could listen to all those teachers, those who have learnt before, image what we could achieve. Thanks for the captivating review.
LikeLike
I have this book on my wishlist and now I really want to get to it sooner than later.
LikeLike
I really need to read more from him. I tried The Last Unicorn and couldn’t get into it at the time!
LikeLike
Thanks again for sending me the book, Chris. Yes, it’s a most unusual and haunting book. It stays with you.
Thanks, Tamara. I don’t know what his other books are like, but this first one he wrote was very interesting.
Kristen M, it was on my TBR list for a long, long time, so I’m glad I finally got to it.
Kailana, I haven’t read The Last Unicorn, but it’s been sitting on my shelf for years. It takes me a long time to get to some of these books. I have to be in just the right mood.
LikeLike
I recently read this as well and loved it. The characters, the setting, the language, everything. I’m so glad you loved it as much as I did despite reading it in small chunks.
LikeLike
Rhinoa, I’d like to read more of his books!
LikeLike