Yesterday was my 21st birthday. I fell asleep not having imbibed a single sip of alcohol, on my bed with my two young cousins (13 and 11) on the floor beneath me. I spent the weekend with my family, and felt filled with a contentment steeped in unnecessary and unjustifiable bittersweetness. Or, to phrase it better than that, and to borrow from Michael Chabon, a Pittsburgh writer's quote from his novel The Mysteries of Pittsburgh:
"But it was a happiness so like sadness that the next moment I hung my head"
Earlier in my birthday, before the three of us were falling asleep, I gave my aunt, uncle and their daughters a tour of campus. We were walking across the bridge to Phipps, and they asked me what the towers emitting smoke were. I immediately thought of Chabon's description in The Mysteries of Pittsburgh a novel that is not surprisingly set in Oakland. He calls the mystery location The Cloud Factory. Those puffs of smoke are a mystery to me; to everyone apparently, including Chabon but calling them clouds seems accurate enough.
So, yes. At any rate, hours after I attempted to explain to my family that the factory was best described as "the cloud factory", the quote about a happiness so like sadness felt more than appropriate.
It's funny how sometimes one author's phrases float in my head. Yesterday Chabon was the soundtrack to my day.
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I have a friend who is a huuuge fan of Chabon, and I read Wonder Boys this summer. He's a great writer, and his word choice is simply impeccable. At the same time, I'm not a gigantic fan of Chabon like so many other people are. He's impressive, but I don't think he's worth all the hype. Then again, I've only read one book I want to read the Adventures of Kavalier & Clay since that won a Pulitzer and what have you, but now, maybe I'll read the Mysteries of Pittsburgh.
ReplyDeleteI always see the Cloud Factory when I'm biking home from campus, and I think, "Oh hey - that's the Cloud Factory. They really do look like clouds." It's really something at night. You should check it out, maybe.
Is that why Pittsburgh's sky is always so cloudy? I knew it had to be something.
ReplyDeleteAnyway, I find it interesting to hear you say Chabon was the soundtrack to your day. I pass that phrase through my head but in place of Chabon it's usually a particular musician or album depending on the mood I'm in (I'm sure a lot of people do this, too). I never thought of applying it to a writer even though I get a pretty distinct mood-affecting sensation when I read a good writer for a while. I will have to give it a try the next time I come across a writer I can't stop thinking about.