You will forget what you just read within the next five minutes. You will be amazed by my words while they flow into your mind like water and you will not even notice them drain out of the back of your cerebellum into nothingness. You will not miss them. You will not think to yourself, several months from now, while sitting with a friend in your favorite coffee shop on a particularly pleasant Sunday afternoon,
"What was the name of that book I read recently, funny little book, it so recalls the witty conversation I'm currently enjoying with my very good friend, Nancy or Kim or whatever..."
You will not mention to Rachel or Steve or whoever you happen to be chatting or arguing with on a train, in a movie theater or at the ball game, the name of this book, its author or its contents. You will not remark on its clever prose, its use of complex themes or even its impeccable, though stylized, grammar. You will not do these things because it will be as if you never purchased this book from your nearest struggling local bookseller, as if you never downloaded it to your inappropriately expensive and yet completely inadequate computerized book replacement device. You will forget this experience. You will not care that you have forgotten it. You will put this book down because your lunch break is over, the kids came home or your favorite sports team just came back to the field after the half, and then it will cease to exist in your mind. You might notice it sitting on your shelf, nightstand, toilet seat weeks from now and glance at it, confused or indifferent, and assuming it has already been read, you will discard it amongst the stack of car magazines and paperback science fiction "novels" that resides in the corner of your attic or garage. And there it will stay.
You will not do these things because this book is boring, hard to understand or poorly written. On the contrary, this book may be one of the most interesting and important works of prose you will ever read. This book would change your life and your entire worldview, if only you were to recall what it was about. But unfortunately, you will not. You are not alone. No one will remember reading this book. No one will remember its author. No one will remember reading his words, meeting him on the street, spending an afternoon with him, taking his order at a restaurant, selling him a car, or any interaction or shared experience with him at all.
You will no better remember my mark on your life than anyone else.
People forget me. Without fail. I do not exist in the long-term memory of anyone I meet. I am just a ghost in your subconscious. Don't feel bad; its not your fault. Its mine. I make you forget. This is my condition.
Its fading already, isn't it?
"What was the name of that book I read recently, funny little book, it so recalls the witty conversation I'm currently enjoying with my very good friend, Nancy or Kim or whatever..."
You will not mention to Rachel or Steve or whoever you happen to be chatting or arguing with on a train, in a movie theater or at the ball game, the name of this book, its author or its contents. You will not remark on its clever prose, its use of complex themes or even its impeccable, though stylized, grammar. You will not do these things because it will be as if you never purchased this book from your nearest struggling local bookseller, as if you never downloaded it to your inappropriately expensive and yet completely inadequate computerized book replacement device. You will forget this experience. You will not care that you have forgotten it. You will put this book down because your lunch break is over, the kids came home or your favorite sports team just came back to the field after the half, and then it will cease to exist in your mind. You might notice it sitting on your shelf, nightstand, toilet seat weeks from now and glance at it, confused or indifferent, and assuming it has already been read, you will discard it amongst the stack of car magazines and paperback science fiction "novels" that resides in the corner of your attic or garage. And there it will stay.
You will not do these things because this book is boring, hard to understand or poorly written. On the contrary, this book may be one of the most interesting and important works of prose you will ever read. This book would change your life and your entire worldview, if only you were to recall what it was about. But unfortunately, you will not. You are not alone. No one will remember reading this book. No one will remember its author. No one will remember reading his words, meeting him on the street, spending an afternoon with him, taking his order at a restaurant, selling him a car, or any interaction or shared experience with him at all.
You will no better remember my mark on your life than anyone else.
People forget me. Without fail. I do not exist in the long-term memory of anyone I meet. I am just a ghost in your subconscious. Don't feel bad; its not your fault. Its mine. I make you forget. This is my condition.
Its fading already, isn't it?
