Poor little spider

[davidlevine]

This weekend I finished The Iron Council by China Miéville, which I thought was awesome, and immediately devoured The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time by Mark Haddon, which had been recommended to me by kateyule.

The latter book was a brilliant character study of an austistic 15-year-old, who overcomes the unique problems presented by his autism using the unique strengths presented by his autism. Unfortunately, I found the end of the book terribly depressing. I mean, he did achieve a limited kind of success within the sphere of the book. But he didn't overcome his autism, or the many personal problems it creates for him and the people he loves -- which is realistic, but still terribly unfortunate. Although the main character achieves his own goals, he still is left with no social skills and limited daily life skills, and I'm depressed by his prospects.

I came out of the book and looked at my LJ friends list, where I discovered that the hurricane that had been a Category 1 storm the last time I looked had grown to a Category 5 that threatened to completely destroy New Orleans. (It seems I get most of my news from LJ these days.) I was glued to the news for the rest of the evening. All the other major disasters we've seen in the last few years have been sudden; we haven't had the opportunity to worry about them in advance like this.

The book and the news must have hit me harder than I thought. On my way to work this morning, through an on-and-off drizzle, I noticed a spider clinging to the windshield. (I like spiders, as related in Bento a couple of issues back. Among other things, I admire them for their industry.) I was just half a block from work, so if the spider held on a little bit longer it would be okay. I touched the windshield wiper control to make sure the intermittent wiper was off so it wouldn't get squished.

You guessed it. I accidentally turned on the wiper, and the poor little thing got squished.

And I cried.

Well, I was laughing and crying at the same time, because I saw how ridiculous it was to cry over a spider when millions of people have been driven from their homes by a disaster of Biblical proportions.

But still. Poor thing.

Comments

[frostfox.livejournal.com]

I burst into tears when a huge, I mean HUGE, bumble bee flew right into the gas ring I was about to put a pan of water on. Burnt off all it's fuzz and it's wings, I had to put it out of it's misery - poor wee thing. I love bumble bees - they are sort of my totem animal, except I know I can't fly.

FF

[davidlevine]

Poor wee thing!

except I know I can't fly

This is good...

[deedop.livejournal.com]

I'm always trying to stop Dave from killing spiders. He has a low tolerance for crawly things. Me, I want to catch them and give them a new life outside.

The Mark Haddon book has been on my to-read list for quite some time, though I know the ending will be difficult. But then how else can it end and be at all realistic? My 15-year-old nephew is mildly autistic and this sort of thing runs in the family a bit -- in fact the trend that direction has become more noticeable since my dad died (like we swept it under the rug because Dad was the stability factor and now that he's gone...). Anyway, it's something I've been mulling over for a lengthy LJ post when I've time.

[davidlevine]

I am the official disposer of creepy-crawlies in our household. Spiders, and sometimes ants if I'm in a good mood, I entice onto a bit of paper and shoo outside. Wasps and bees are subject to swift and poisonous death. Flies I swat, with great verve. (I do enjoy a good fly hunt. The degree to which I loathe and despise flies is a good part of why I like spiders so much.)

One of the disquieting things about Dog in the Night-Time was just how close my own thought processes are to Christopher's. Like many an SF fan, I do have some difficulty understanding people's feelings, and there are days when I feel just like him. I could really empathize with him, which made the fact that he didn't get any better (which, in real life, he wouldn't) even more painful.

[cjsmith.livejournal.com]

I adored The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time -- very, very well done. It wasn't as strong a downer for me as it was for you, perhaps because (as you say) he achieves his own goals.

I just finished reading Incendiary, and that, for me, was one big powerful downer. Holy moly. (But maybe it wouldn't be so bad for you. Hard to say.)

Like you, when I've read a book that's a bit depressing, I'm more prone to see the tragedies around me in my daily life.

[davidlevine]

I consider it a strong possibility that some other stressor in my life is what caused me to react so strongly to both Dog in the Night-Time and Hurricane Katrina (and, of course, the poor spider). But I'm not quite sure which of the many things that are going on right now is the cause. Maybe a combination of all of them.

[luna-the-cat.livejournal.com]

Just a little non-informative note to say, ya know, I hear ya. On the spider issue, and the book, both.

I like spiders too. And I won't let my husband kill them.