Thought for the Day Be regular and....

[Paul Whybrow]

Be regular and orderly in your life so that you may be violent and original in your work.

Gustave Flaubert

 

[Pamela Jo]

Be regular and orderly in your life so that you may be violent and original in your work.

Gustave Flaubert

Wait wasn't he the guy with the pet lobster he'd take for walks on a leash?

 

[Paul Whybrow]

Wait wasn't he the guy with the pet lobster he'd take for walks on a leash?

No, that was Gérard de Nerval - and he died with a talking raven in attendance!

 

[Paul Whybrow]

Flaubert was supposedly inspired by a stuffed parrot, which led to Julian Barnes writing a novel.

 

[Pamela Jo]

No, that was Gérard de Nerval - and he died with a talking raven in attendance!

OK. I'd rather be him. Though not sure about Goethe's aversion to dogs being a measure of sanity. "Why should a lobster be any more ridiculous than a dog? ...or a cat, or a gazelle, or a lion, or any other animal that one chooses to take for a walk? I have a liking for lobsters. They are peaceful, serious creatures. They know the secrets of the sea, they don't bark, and they don't gnaw upon one's monadic privacy like dogs do. And Goethe had an aversion to dogs, and he wasn't mad."

 

[Pamela Jo]

Flaubert was supposedly inspired by a stuffed parrot, which led to Julian Barnes writing a novel.

Yes, I have the novel... I confess couldn't finish it.

 

[Pamela Jo]

Speaking of history being stranger than fiction can I share this with you. I just read it and am fascinated. Interesting too to see what the Neo-nazis are up to these days. Sons of Tokyo, dreams of Europe

 

[Paul Whybrow]

Yes, I have the novel... I confess couldn't finish it.

I have the same problem with all of his novels! They always start promisingly, but about two-thirds of the way though they lose their impetus.