Fiction Friday (42)

On this Friday, I've decided to post a review of book that I've known quite well for decades but which my opinion about has changed drastically in the past few months. Anyone who knows me knows that I'm a person of strong opinions and usually have stubborn convictions on said opinions. So for me to have a change of heart, especially on a book, is quite rare. I'm pretty pleased to say this is the first thing on which my daughter has changed my opinion, though I'm quite certain it won't be the last.

Goodnight Moon by Margaret Wise Brown
(HarperCollins 1947)

When I worked in Children's publishing as buyer, I hated this book. I'd read it many, many times and never saw what people liked about it. It was dull. It was boring. It was a book that I crusaded against as one that had seen its time and needed to be retired. 

I was wrong.

Of course when my daughter was born, this book was one that was given to her. When she was about three months old, I read it to her for the first time, without much excitement. At the time, I still believed what I believed. We didn't read it very many times after. Then, about two months ago, I read it to her again as we were getting her ready for bed and saw how how much she liked it and how it soothed her. 

We read it a few more times, and soon she started pointing at the things as I read about them. My interest in the book grew. We began reading it every other night. For the first time I understood the genius in the rhythm of the text. I began to appreciate the nonsense quality of the items and the randomness of things chosen. And I discovered the art of reading it aloud and how it lends itself to a magical, peaceful ending. 

So goodnight old opinions. Goodnight criticism. Goodnight nobody. And goodnight mush.

Creation

As my journey into fatherhood quickly approaches, I've been thinking a lot about the act of creation. I've always been interested in the concept. As a writer, I'm constantly creating lives and stories, but they only exist in some other realm. Having a baby is an entirely different thing, and sometimes the whole thing can be overwhelming, contemplating how two people can create a life where one didn't exist before.

The other day, I was thinking about this, and I came to the conclusion that the concept that life is created by a divinity bothered me. A new life isn't made by an act of divine intervention, it is made by a man and a woman. To deny that is to deny the power we hold within us. It's what makes people believe that humans don't have the power to fix the problems of the world, when we do. If we can create life, we can certainly fix the environment, conquer hunger, poverty, and disease, but to do these things, we need to believe in ourselves and our ability to affect change. 

As a father, I want my daughter to be aware of her potential. I don't want her to ever think she can't do something. Of course, there are many things we can't do by ourselves, but together, I truly believe there isn't anything the human spirit cannot achieve. These are the values I want to pass on to her, because divinity is intrinsic within us all.