I read The Middle Voice, a story by Han Kang, mostly in the middle of the night, where the middle voice speaks. The middle voice is a greek third voice, reflexive, as in the english 'he hanged himself'.
Perhaps insomnia is a method. Learn and suffer are nearly the same in greek. What I read in the middle of the night I read exclusively. Nothing else is going on. The world is mute and you are humming peacefully.
The woman in Han Kang's story has long episodes of being unable to move her lips, speak, She writes. Or someone writes. Her son calls her Thickly Falling Snow's Sorrow. His name is Sparkling Forest.
A korean woman learns classical greek in order to take refuge in another language. To learn its economies and poignancy. To test her own speech.
No, she says, it isn't that simple.
No comments :
Post a Comment