Leaving the Highlands

Sparrows were definitely farting this morning.

Todays Story:-


Half a Book
I bought half a book. I didn’t give it much thought at the time, I just bought it without thinking it through. It was only later at home that my thoughts turned to what I had done, and why. Then the question of which half of the book I had bought sprang to mind. Had I bought the second half? What a pointless exercise that would be. What use would the second half of the book be? Without the first half of the book the second half would make little or no sense at all. Without the context of the first half how could one even begin to understand the tale the author had intended for me. The reverse would also hold true. With only the first half of the book one would have the context – the author setting up the story. However, on reading it one would be left high and dry, dangling over the cliff edge wondering what came next, how the author had finished her tale.

However when one thinks about such a concept as ‘half a book’ there is a certain appeal – at least to this author. That appeal is to the extent that – depending on which half of the book is bought – the reader is left with either the beginning, or the ending of a particular tale. This gives the reader’s imagination carte blanche to run riot with either the beginning, or the end of the story. So here I am with half a book, where does it go from here? Although it does raise the question about the author of the half a book that I have, and whether, or not, it was the author’s intention to write half a book in the first place. If this were the case I would be questioning why, what motivation lay behind the decision to write half a book.

I attempt to place myself in the position of this author, to think through how I would approach writing half a book. This is far from easy. The only conclusion at which I can arrive is that I could only write half a book if I ran out of words. I am fully aware that words are pretty slippery things, and that they will desert one on a whim. Words are also devious things, and can change their meaning with very little thought for the person using them – for example the pun, or the double entendre. Maybe that is the answer. One day the author sat down to write a book, and halfway through the words got up and ran away from her leaving her with only a half finished book. It would be quite interesting to know the author’s point of view, and whether, or not, they had a rational explanation for writing half a book. However, this is something that I will probably never know – so I might as well get on with reading my half a book, and see what journey it takes me on.

Note
This piece is based on a real event. Two friends wanted to read the same book, but when they got to the bookshop there was only one copy left. After a little discussion they decided to buy ‘half’ the book each. The warped, and literal, mind of Gittus Miserabilis (the author of this piece) simply saw how bizarre the concept of buying half a book could be.