Music and dreams

The main impression that I am getting from Bass Cathedral is that N. has a lot of deep thoughts and always recounts the smallest details of his life, especially the balloons and music. He also may feel the need to communicate with and look up to someone, namely Angel of Dust. The cartoon-strip balloons, which have actually been in the character's lives for a very long time, seem to have a somewhat large effect on N.: "The balloon's rise rode my sunken heart...breath held on high buoyed me up, made my recourse to problematic romance pan out" (26). The balloons N. refers to here appeared with a choir, which proves that they have some unknown association with music. Also, N. seems to have very random thoughts, particularly about music: "I heard exactly the trumpet sound I want. It was an in-between place that I heard it, half here, half gone" (27). N. probably has a very special way of expressing himself and revealing emotions through music.

After attending music shop, N. and Lambert eat wontons at Yang Chow (yes, Chinatown!) and have an unexpected surprise: a woman slides in to the booth next to Lambert, which, of course, takes both of them by surprise. The stranger turns out to be Melanie, who says she's just an old friend of Lambert's from college, but her actions tell much more: "A simple peck whose gallantry and restraint made it almost lewd, it too suggested bedspreads and blankets tossed aside" (34). Interestingly, this brings up one of the most important topics of novels: love. Passion and affection for another always intervene in any situation. After opening up, Lambert discusses his involvement with Melanie: "the certain something...I love but grow weary of but can't help, even having grown weary, going back to again and again" (36). This seems to be one of those I-like-you-but-I-don't-like-you relationships, and it will be interesting to see how it turns out. Though it may seem irrelevant to a tale about music, love will come into play and influence the telling of the story.

~ Outside Reading #2

Mackey, Nathaniel. Bass Cathedral. Grand Rapids: New Directions Corporation, 2008.