the sea

there's a bit of a pattern emerging of the books i have read lately
this one by john banville comes emblazoned with an eye-catching phrase on the cover
winner of the man booker prize 2005 - another prize winner of an unknown prize
that and a quick read of the synopsis on the back cover is enough
and shifts the book from one of thousands laid out before me seeking attention
to one of a new constant companion as it is given that attention
they departed, the gods, on the day of the strange tide
all morning under a milky sky the waters in the bay had swelled and swelled rising to un-heard of heights
the small waves creeping over parched sand that for years had known no wetting
save for rain and lapping the very bases of the dunes
the rusted bulk of the freighter that had run aground at the far end of the bay
longer ago than any of us could remember must have thought it was being granted a relaunch
i would not swim again after that day
the seabirds mewled and swooped, unnerved, it seemed
by the spectacle of that vast bowl of water bulging like a blister, lead-blue and malignantly agleam
they looked unnaturally white, that day, those birds
the waves were depositing a fringe of soiled yellow foam along the waterline
no sail marred the high horizon - i would not swim, no, not ever again
someone has just walked over my grave, someone
that from page 1 of this story of a man and his trip down memory lane
recalling summers from his childhood spent at the seaside
where he discovers a world outside his own distant parents
and befriends another family of visitors who take up residence in a house called the cedars
they are a family fraught with internal conflicts and allegiances
and through them he discovers the meaning of friendship, lust and love
sadly he is also exposed very early in his life to the grief of death
the book moves between the time spent in his past at the sea
and in current times tending for his now terminally ill wife
which in turn means dealing with his own daughter and her chosen partner
it's a beautifully written book with such descriptive phrasing
i found myself going along for the ride just to enjoy the way the story is told
without too much thought given to the actual story itself which seems quite secondary
there is no doubt that the author's intention is to very clearly remind us
that our childhood days and experiences affect and stay with us for life
and in the end quite possibly it is those times that resonate most strongly
as in this case leading to a physical return to the place of his youth
which quite surprisingly and cleverly connects quite a few dots
a very satisfying read