Pieces of Wisdom by Aphorisms

Sunday, 23rd November 2014

Writing poetry: Part I My Quatrain

Tuesday, 18th November 2014

Rehearsing to be a poet

You never know what you can do until you try,

so why not just rehearse a poet's rhyme?

Life is so similar to a wheel ride:

if you never dare, you'll waste your time.

Laura María Heras Ruiz

THE ART OF LOVING, by Erich Fromm- Chapter 1. Is it love an Art?

Wednesday, 11th November 2014

THE ART OF LOVING, by Erich Fromm

Chapter 1. Is it love an Art?

The main intention of the book is demonstrating that love is an art, something that requires knowledge and effort, which can be learnt. The author’s concept of love is the consequence of a conscientious work, not something that happens by chance.

He reinforces his idea of love as a struggle by mentioning three mistakes that people make when they love and which cause that many couples split up: 

The first failure consists of the notion of passive love (being loved) rather than active love (love somebody or something). People want to be loved or being worth of it. What is more, nobody thinks of being able to love as the main target to aim to. A big effort is needed to become successful or to get enough features for being loved.

The second usual mistake is to conceive love as an object instead of as an ability to be increased and developed through willingness, willpower and convenience. In fact, the belief of romantic love is very recent, and this vision has demolished the concept of love as a faculty in the world today, as it follows the path of consumism. In that way, we seek love as if we were looking for new clothes or shoes from a shop window.

Last but not least, the third mistake he has found is that people should stand in love instead of falling or being in love. This means that after being able to pass all the stages of love, even with its rough patches, there is nothing easier in life than to love. Not being able to stand in love causes an overwhelming lack of knowledge about the meaning of love and in most cases, falling in love ends to be an intense but extremely short experience followed by disappointment and frustration.

Finally, the writer reinforces the thought of love as an art by pointing out that you have to master both in theory and practice, and the proficiency of the art must be a topic of ultimate concern, that is, to have no other purpose than benefit your spirit, being a better person and feeling good.

THE PILLARS OF THE EARTH. KEN FOLLETT

THE PILLARS OF THE EARTH by KEN FOLLETT

REVIEW

The Pilars of the Earth is a historical novel by Ken Follett. This book tells the tale of a twelfth-century monk driven to do the seemingly impossible: build the greatest Gothic cathedral the world has ever known in the town of Kingsbridge, England.

One of the best things about this book is the way in which it combines intrigue, fast-paced action, and passionate romance. But what makes The Pillars of the Earth extraordinary is the time—the twelfth century; the place—feudal England; and the subject—the building of a glorious cathedral. Follett has re-created the crude, flamboyant England of the Middle Ages in every detail.

The building of the cathedral is the centre of the drama. Around the site of the construction, Follett weaves a story of betrayal, revenge, and love which catch the reader. That is what makes this great bestseller thrilling and breathtaking.

If I were to make a criticism of the book, it would be that the descriptions of the buildings and the process of building the cathedral were extensive.  At times it seemed a little long winded but for the most part I enjoyed reading about all of the work that went into building in 12th century.  The characters are all well-developed and Follett created one of the most awful villains I have ever read.  William Hamleigh will forever be on my list of super villains after reading this book.  He was such an evil character! Most of the rest of the characters were likable and I definitely felt connected to Tom Builder and his family.  I liked that the story followed the family for so many years and I could watch his children grow up and flourish.

All in all, reading this book you cannot fail to fall in love with the characters. The Pillars of the Earth is an incredibly intimidating book but once I started reading it, the story and characters trapped me. It actually reads pretty quickly for such a huge book!