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Don't Expect This To Be Scientifically Plausible - LISTEN to the blog by clicking the DOWNLOAD link below
"Don't Expect This To Be Scientifically Plausible" oil on cradled wood panel, 24 x 12 x 1.5 inches. This item is unframed but ready to hang. (click on the image to purchase)
Yes, don’t expect this novella to be scientifically plausible. It’s not. It’s a totally absurd, tongue-in-cheek mishmash of the most popular time travel tropes, juggled with admirable deftness and self-awareness by the angry old man in the center of the story. Time travel serves here only as a literary vehicle for funny and sharp critique of our human foibles and vices and prejudices. And if we can get an adorable, feathered, man-eating dinosaur as a bonus, all the better.
- RE-ENCHANTMENTOFTHEWORLD.BLOG
Here we are at the end of the world, with a giant, angry rabbit and cotton candy skies.
Which might be what happens when you read Adrian Tchaikovsky's One Day All This Will Be Yours. Sometimes it's good to make fun of everything that makes you angry and disappointed, as Tchaikovsky's unnamed protagonist does in this splendid novella.
But this blog isn't about book reviews or literary critiques. It is, however, about the things that reach down into our depths and poke us until we pay attention (or bat them away, depending on your methods). I didn't know how very much I needed a dose of full snark until Malcolm and I began reading this book. Whoa whoa whoa. My entire insides said YES, PLEASE and MAY I HAVE ANOTHER? It is a little respite from the state of the world and the endless news cycle.
Which might be what happens when you read Adrian Tchaikovsky's One Day All This Will Be Yours. Sometimes it's good to make fun of everything that makes you angry and disappointed, as Tchaikovsky's unnamed protagonist does in this splendid novella.
But this blog isn't about book reviews or literary critiques. It is, however, about the things that reach down into our depths and poke us until we pay attention (or bat them away, depending on your methods). I didn't know how very much I needed a dose of full snark until Malcolm and I began reading this book. Whoa whoa whoa. My entire insides said YES, PLEASE and MAY I HAVE ANOTHER? It is a little respite from the state of the world and the endless news cycle.
About the art: oh, you may have guessed the AI bot loves rabbits. It is fully willing and able to imagine rabbits in every possible scenario, style and genre of art. Ask it for an angry rabbit at the end of the world, and you'll get dozens of grin-inducing inspiration images. This piece is all about that black rabbit and the vivid sky. Soft paint layers here on gesso'd wood panel. I kept the setting very neutral and understated, with the color focus behind the rabbit and within his eyes and nostrils. A hint of tiny utility lines running through the sky and resisting the desire to overly define the structures was key to shining the spotlight on the rabbit. I can't look at this piece without chuckling a bit. Sometimes embracing the absurd is just the thing to soothe the spirit.
It is the final week to enter the September Reader Giveaway! Leave a comment (or more than one) this month to enter. The winner will be announced right here on September 30th.
Thank you to everyone who reads, comments and shares this blog space and the art within it. Giving away a portion of what I create is my way of showing my deep gratitude for all of you, dear readers! Thank you hugely!
Thank you to everyone who reads, comments and shares this blog space and the art within it. Giving away a portion of what I create is my way of showing my deep gratitude for all of you, dear readers! Thank you hugely!
Your blog may be about your incredible art as well as your thoughts and heart, but I also love the introduction to literature I have never heard of before. I will have to check this book out. Such a wonderful world out there to explore before it's destruction by unseen hands or this rabbit! So much to think about here and imagine!
I totally hear you about needing a break from the news cycle. I try to take one physical political action to help the country or the world per week but I took the regular news app of my phone. Lately, I have taken to googling, "positive news for the day" and it is so cool that there are entire publications dedicated to this that pop up. Puts oxygen back in the lungs.
xo Thea