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A Birthday gift from my fellow dancer and bibliophile, Patricia Bernardi.
Leaf by Niggle May 8, 2005.
I read this particular "Tale from the Perilous Realm" today in the car, out loud to Pamela. And I must say that we were rather mystified by it. She was concentrating on her driving, (German Autobahn driving, which means 120 to 150 kph at most times,) and I was concentrating on reading it out loud. So, it seemed to both of us to be something very strange, and incomprehensible about a simpleton painter, living in a strict and structured society,and then going to some sort of mental hospital, which he is released from, and goes on some kind of magic journey, into his one big masterwork painting, where he stays. Except there's also the lack of magics... it being set in the 20th century, and involving trains. (OK, it COULD be the 19th century too.)
Now, if you plan on reading this story, then I encourage you NOT TO READ ANY FURTHER. Because I'm going to put forth my -our, interpretation of what this story meant.
We (Pamela and I,) thought that it could be mostly symbolic. And this started out as just a little idea, but it explains most of the oddities in the tale. From the beginning, we know that Niggle, (The protagonist's name,)has a big journey that he has to make. We are never told anything about it though; only that Niggle always procrastinates his preparations for this journey. -And never becomes ready for it, until one day, when some things are hectic in his life already, he finds that the day of the journey has come, and he must depart for it without delay.
Well, we took this to mean death. And he had not prepared himself for it. He then wakes up, (He had been ill, and lost consciousness somewhere on the train to his destination.) -and finds himself locked up in a little room for many weeks, with only one doctor who visits him, though staying aloof and uncommunicative. Then Niggle's life takes an unexplained turn for the worse: he is made to work, as a slave or prisoner in this "Hospital." He has holes to dig, things to clean, and repair. He's still left at night in a close, locked room, with no light.
Only then, after a long long time, when he's become... used to this life, and accepts it, and Carries on with his life the best that he can, given the highly restrictive circumstances, that a panel of judges, or doctors discus him, and his progress. One is in favor of keeping Niggle with this same hard, drudgery work, and feels that Niggle has wasted his life and abilities, and deserves nothing good, the other feels that there are good qualities in Niggle's Heart, and that his behavior has not been so bad, or undesirable. (And the usage of intimate knowledge of Niggle's life and thoughts used by the two in making their arguments, at first suggested to me that the world the tale is set in, is an ultra-controlling world, where they were spying one him for years, and having notes about all he does and says.)
At the end of this discussion, the judge that sees potential, and good in Niggle has his way, and niggle is to be moved to the "Other" or "Next" stage of... healing. This is when Niggle is then taken Into his picture, where he is left to live on his own, doing as he pleases, (and finishing his masterwork, which is a landscape of a vast valley... with detail to every square meter.)
Anyhow, we took all this to be a version of Heaven, or the Afterlife; Once dead, he needs to... come to terms with himself. (I personally see it as the need for people to change their ways before entering heaven -if heaven is to be the place of perfect Peace, and happiness for all. -Surely, as we are, happiness for all in inachievable; So women... want to be beautiful; More beautiful than all the others. -Or, Some people like to smoke, So in Heaven, they Need to be able to smoke, otherwise, It will not be a place of joy for them. Others, can not stand smoking at all, so heaven needs to be non-smoking, for them to have any joy there. -Now, what if these people were family, so that they could not be separated into entirely different Heavens... -because then neither would be happy. -My point is, that for All People to be Satisfied, and Happy together, All People will first need to change, and learn to be happy with and about other things. They will need to take on quite a new look of life.)
And that is exactly what is done to Niggle; He is made to live his life in a different way, and find satisfaction in the simple things, like polishing wood. Only then, is his progress, (Towards... this ideal way of living, where... everything is Enough,) considered enough that the overseers decide to let him continue with his Recovery in an easier environment. And the powers of the Afterlife give him a... place of his own, to fix and create as he will... as Part of his Therapy.
Well, He ends up completing his "Picture" -his Therapy, and is ready to leave at last. Then the Shepard comes down, to the edge of his... painting/world, and asks if he's ready to leave the place, and come up, into the mountains that border it, and join with the shepard, and his flock for a time. -So, up in the mountains represents the ideal, Heaven, where we are all together... the ending destination of our afterlives.
I've written far too much on that now, I think. And I must sleep. And I don't know how clear I was, but I feel convinced that this is a book about dying, and about all the work of this basically good man, not coming to Naught, (Though in our, "Real World," he ends up passing, and being forgotten.)
It's going to need to be reread. SlyM.
Smith of Wotton Major May 12, 2005. (also from Tales from the Perilous Realm.)
Unlike Leaf by Niggle, this tale was much more straight forward, and... story-telling-like. It also... still had a small touch of melancholy though. Not a great deal, but enough to bring a few tears to my eyes. (When the main character found out that he was never going to be able to return to the land of Faery again. It was not entirely sad, and he took it well, with understanding and acceptance. But, it's still... unfortunate.)
I liked the way that he, (the protagonist,) was: touched by faery, but never directly told so. This meant that through his life, he had to discover why he was different. And why he had this occasional wanderlust, and why such journeys took him to a land ... which was Different. Then, in the end, with his fully understanding it, the time had come for him to pass on the... gift; the touch of Faery. It was no longer to be his, but given to a child of his town. And so it went.
And that was... just beautiful. It was a truly lovely little tale of the circle of life. The idea of a town which has a high cheff also appealed to me, so I enjoyed seeing the setting of this tale. (Aaah, me and Cooking. I just can't resist it.) It was very nice. Very nice indeed.