The Compassionate Despot of Quebec
Funny thing about grand architectural triumphs. As metaphor, they generally work best when invested with malevolence or evil. Like the Overlook Hotel, for instance. In this collection’s title story, the author turns the tables and invests the gothic elements of Quebec’s famous contribution to railway hotels with opposing aspects:
“The Chateau Frontenac towers over the city like a benevolent dictator.”
The Difference Between Alone and Lonely
What’s the difference between being alone and being lonely? One can be lonely without being alone. Those who merely get down or suffer the blues but have never actually suffered depression have trouble comprehending this. The following simile is a good one to adopt:
“He thinks I suffer from depression. But I’m just quiet. Solitude and depression are like swimming and drowning.”
The Storm
“The Story of Windy Trees” features a storm that is seen through the eyes of a character named George Frack. The storm damage is reported to the reader through a third-person narrator, but is just strange enough to make one wonder if the oddness of its metaphorical language is intended as insight into George’s mind:
“George watched from his window as a seamless band of clouds rolled toward him. Trees bent, as if leaned on by invisible hands. The streetlight fell in perfect columns of raindrops.
Cars pulled to the sides of the road. Umbrellas blew out like escaping squid.”
Once Visualized, Never Forgotten
That George, he is fodder for some really interesting images. While the squid-like umbrellas are seen from George’s point of view, what about the point of view looking at George? That gets pretty interesting, too. In fact, once one visualizes the metaphor at the heart of this image of a man at an airport baggage carousel, it is practically impossible not to see it in real life when the occasion rises:
“The baggage area was bright but desolate. People watched the pushing belt of suitcases and boxes. George sat on his briefcase as though it were a very small horse.”
Metaphor as Philosophy
Metaphor is a powerful tool for writers who want to inject a little philosophy into their work. Specific and precise imagery does a much a job of conveying the big picture than reams and reams of words. That’s why posters sell better than the collected works of Kant:
“Age is a plow that unearths the true nature of things. But only after the moment has passed and we are powerless to change anything, are we granted wisdom. As though we are living backward.”
