NotĀ soĀ longĀ ago, feeling intimations of mortality, Jan Morris embarked on aĀ whollyĀ novel literary enterprise. What began as a series of high-minded letters to her late daughterāin the style of Lord Chesterfield addressing his sonāquickly transformedĀ itself intoĀ a potpourriĀ of mini-essays andĀ vibrantĀ reminiscences, organized around experiences both majestic and mundane, from traveling the world with her lifelong partner, Elizabeth, to sneezing and kissing and simply growing old.Ā Ā
SoĀ AllegorizingsĀ came to be, and so Morris decided that it should only be published upon her death,Ā not because she had anything to hide but,Ā merely, in parting.Ā Featuring essaysĀ largelyĀ writtenĀ in the early twenty-first century,Ā AllegorizingsĀ reflects, above all,Ā Morrisās steadfast conviction that nothing is only what itĀ seems. InĀ fact,Ā she observes,Ā everything is allegory.Ā Indeed, in Morrisās telling, even lifeāthe whole conundrum of existenceāis one long, majestically impenetrable allegory.Ā Ā
Taking us fromĀ theĀ separatistĀ hippieĀ colonyĀ ofĀ Bolinas,Ā California,Ā to her home country of Wales,Ā andĀ introducing usĀ to Nepalese SherpasĀ andĀ elderlyĀ cruise-goers alike,Ā Morris follows the throughline of allegory throughout her works.Ā In one essay, she lambasts the joylessnessĀ of maturity (āMaturity! Did ever a heart thrill to the sound of it, still less the meaning?ā) andĀ in another,Ā decries the nonsense of nationality.Ā WithĀ characteristicĀ verve,Ā sheĀ offersĀ odes to whistling and cursing,Ā cats,Ā and exclamation points.Ā Ā MorrisāsĀ travels anchor the collection, as sheĀ revisits the iconicĀ settings of herĀ previousĀ works. We joinĀ herĀ aboard theĀ storiedĀ Orient Express, as well as tubeĀ trains passing through the purlieus ofĀ London. SoĀ too, we hike the foothills of the Himalayasāwhere MorrisĀ burst onto sceneĀ with her on-the-spot reportage ofĀ the first ascent of Everestāand reflect on the picaresque allure of Tournus, a dichotomized town in France whereĀ one France, bearing all the vestiges of privilege, seems to kiss another.Ā Ā
Intimate and luminously wise,Ā AllegorizingsĀ isĀ as much aĀ testament to the virtues of embracing lifeĀ as it is a testament to itsĀ charming,Ā indignant,Ā andĀ ever-surprisingĀ author.Ā In her final work,Ā Morrisās writing is asĀ eruditeĀ as ever,Ā conveyingĀ aĀ generosity of spiritĀ āflavored by well-earned crankinessā (Vox).Ā ThoughĀ newlyĀ bereft of her company, readers will be reminded what āa good, wise, and witty companionā (Alexander McCall Smith) Morris has been to so many, for so long.Ā Ā
This book title, Allegorizings, ISBN: 9780871404145, by Jan Morris, published by Liveright (April 6, 2021) is available in hardcover. Our minimum order quantity is 25 copies. All standard bulk book orders ship FREE in the continental USA and delivered in 4-10 business days.
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