Capturing the Past

I actually did it. As mentioned in this here blog recently, I sought out a book which I read as a preteen and enjoyed then, but hadn't read since. Against the Fall of Night by Arthur C. Clarke, if it's that much trouble to click on the embedded link. I had read it while eating Pringles and drinking Faygo Root Beer. As such, I bought a small supply of each along with a copy of the book off our dear friends at Amazon, taking all three items with me to Hessel in da U.P. a couple of weeks ago.

You what what? You can relive the past just a bit, even only a whiff, a mere hint of enjoyment. Sitting on the sofa up north while noshing Pringles and washing it down with Detroit's finest root beer, I did feel something like a young boy experiencing the book for the first time. 

To be honest, the story isn't exactly the greatest science fiction. I discovered that Clarke, something I did think about all those years ago, tended to drop names and facts into the narrative without explanation, as though I should have known them, and then never offered later background. The tale was also a bit too rushed. That was annoying. Yet it was adventurous and intriguing enough that I understand why a relative youngster just getting a taste for novels would like it.

And I did like it, despite the abruptness. You can go back, I will argue, even if only slightly. That's satisfying on its own level.