Thursday, February 14, 2008

A Four Letter Word for Valentine's day.

A collection of new fiction exploring the fascination and allure of the classic love letter. It is written by some of todays most notable writers including Margaret Atwood, David Bezmozgis, Douglas Coupland, Michel Faber, A.L. Kennedy, and Jeanette Winterson.
Amazon included a sample letter, one that I found quite intriguing. It is a love letter to Earth from Mars, written by Jonathon Lethem Here's an excerpt of the excerpt..
"
No, I'm an edifice, an enigma; to one such as you my science is like magic. Don't delay, act now, give up. You have been selected by a higher being from another realm to be siphoned from among your impoverished species to join me, to be seated in the empty throne beside me (only because I'd never troubled to glance to one side before to notice a seat existed there - not, somehow, until my gaze lit on you) where none of your lowly cringing fellows has ever resided. You're unworthy but you'll be made worthy by the acclaim of my notice. I say again, I'm superior to you. You're tinsel, static, a daisy, a bubble of champagne that went to my head and popped, and I don't even know why I want you and you'd better not give me the chance to think twice."

So, in effect, Mars is enamored with our own blue planet? That isn't too difficult to envision. Yet, this imaginary love letter clearly shows Mars' superiority complex towards Earth. I would think that such a love letter would put the object of affection off a bit. I mean, would Earth really love one so callous and egotistical? It does have its historical precedents, though. Josephine, for whatever reason, fell in love with the narcissistic Napoleon. Look where that got her. Or, for that matter, what in the world did Anne Boleyn see in the egotistical Henry the VIII? That "love" ended quite grizzly, did it not? I would tell the Earth not to listen to Mars.
If Mars truly loved you, Mars would put you on a pedestal, not look down upon you! Wake up dear Earth and see through Mars' self serving adoration. It is you, dear Earth, who supports life, not Mars. Sure Mars is a pure planet of limited diversity. It is unique unto itself, as far as planets go, but superior? I think not. Maybe Saturn, who's to say? No, dear Earth, tell Mars to keep to its orbit and leave you to yours. It most definitely has competition for your affections. There are 6,650,524,661 souls at last count who compete with Mars' adoration. Surely this cannot go unnoticed. The Earth should say, "Mars, thank you very much, but no thanks. I posses quite enough love for all the planets combined. Maybe, dear Mars, you could turn around a see your beloved companion, Venus watching you from afar. Yes, Venus has long since envied your superiority. Venus, named after the goddess of love and beauty, is obviously enamored by your red terrain. She gazes upon you without judgment. Her unconditional adoration is quite obvious to the rest of the solar system. Wake up Mars and see what has been right next to you all along. A mysterious, clouded orb of deep affection. Affection for you, my misguided companion, YOU!
Accost me no more, for I may implore my oversized sentinel, Jupiter, to come to my aid. You wouldn't want to go up against the fearless Jupiter. No, I didn't think so."
Sincerely yours, the venerable Earth


2 comments:

Anonymous said...

I personally think that Pluto is the misunderstood planet. I mean, after all these years, it gets demoted.

Anonymous said...

How interesting, planet love...hmmmm
How about architectural love? The book sounds like fun.