I attended Claire’s recital at the Esplanade library today with the CAPper kids – ran into dominic soon there too – and I realized that she’s living the dream. The dream of freedom from the usual JC/A-levels ordeal, freedom from the whole wharton running of the bulls preprofessional rush (though she goes to hopkins, arguably prepro in a different way). Doing what she wants to do rather than trying to rationalize what must be done.
Of course she’s very good, that goes without saying. I’ve heard all her songs before on her CD, and it seemed about the same listening to her live at the open mic. Whether in Baltimore or here, she’s so much further away and further on in life than I am. I wish I had her courage to dream and live it.
On another note, I’ve finished reading the first Book of the New Sun, and am looking for the second. I’ll reserve my review until I’ve read that, but I think what makes Gene Wolfe’s tetralogy truly groundbreaking for SF (it’s an SF novel disguised as fantasy) is how he constantly toys with reader expectations on the genre and makes us reassess and carefully scrutinize every nuance and detail. I’ve started on Monkey Business and Confessions of an Economic Hitman, both for my current internship quest.
