i'll meet you in italy ...
some books feature the most impressive holidays (or plans of holidays) i've ever imagined and i always love such books. another irreparable flaw. here are some of the best destinations:
1. the deserted island in High Society (Ben Elton). the girl was a prostitute, a junkie, a run-away. in one word, a hopeless being. her dream was very simple: 'i want to have a decent job, have my own room, then go on holiday to a place where the sun shines and floods me with light then when it's time for me to go home, i know i will go back to the place where i belong.' then she met a rock star who, by implausible chance, was stranded alone. anyway, he fell in love at his first sight but the cruel fate separated them almost immediately. the girl was sent back to prostitution and later to jail while the rock star roamed the whole country to find her again. on the day the girl was released, he waited for her outside the prison gate but the girl didn't recognize him and walked away from him. 'I'm here to make your dream come true!' he cried, 'Dream number two. Remember you want to go to a place where there is so much light that it will flood your hair and you will be bathed in it? I'm gonna take you there.' the story ended in a deserted sunny beach with the girl sitting alone, listening to her CD player, and feeling happy. she didn't talk, didn't do anything except enjoying her alone-ness, listening to her music, reading her books, and absorbing the flooding light. the guy watched patiently but didn't disturb her, knowing one day, when she is ready, she will eventually share her music, her thoughts, and her heart with him.
2. italian countryside in Hardboiled&Hardluck (Banana Yoshimoto). they met in a very unusual situation. the girl had a sister who was in comma. the sister's boyfriend left her coz there was no hope she'd be awake again. the guy was the boyfriend's brother who, somehow, felt responsible and started visiting the unconscious sister in the hospital. so, there they met. they kinda liked each other but the situation was just too awkward for them to start having a real relationship. plus, the girl was about to continue her study to italy. but before she left, the guy said to her, 'Can I visit you in Italy and then we can go to the countryside together?' The girl agreed, 'Sure, then we could eat pasta every evening, go and see different scenery, walk till our feet hurt, stay in the same room, and when we look out of the window, at summer outside, maybe we will feel different. But for now, I just can't think about the future.' So, maybe there is always the right time for everything and if it's not right for them now, maybe it will be right for them in italy ...
3. Paris in Flowers for Mrs. Harris (Paul Gallico). this old woman had an obsession to get a Dior haute couture but the problem is, she was only a cleaning service. so for three years, she lived a very frugal life. She saved her money, took sewing job at night, stopped going to the movie, ate less, stopped drinking tea, stopped subscribing to newspaper, even suffered cold in winter coz she didn't want to waste money on heating. But she made it. After three years, she did fly to Paris and went to Christian Dior boutique and after some misundertandings, she finally had the dress fitted for her only. she stayed in Paris for a few weeks till her gown ready. meanwhile, she brought a lot of changes and happiness for the people she met there. when she finally went back home with her Dior dress, she had a different sense of self confidence and self respect. I love the idea that if you want something so badly, you will get it eventually, in Paulo Coelho's words: the whole world will conspire to deliver it to you
posted by miss_rain at 6:00 AM
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