Red -Irwin Allan Sealy

RED -Irwin Allan Sealy

I had bought this book because I liked the style of writing. In short spurts. Like thoughts. The next one comes along before the first ones finished. Thoughts that start midway and end no-where. Raw thoughts.

RED has 2-3 different stories which intertwine in haphazard unpredictable ways. Jerky twists & turns.

The book is written against a background of painting and music.
There are many moments built around paintings of Henry Matisse called “The Red Room” and “The Red Studio”. And now as I look at the same paintings I experience similar sentiments as written in RED.

The book goes into detailed analysis of the paintings. The same book also shows the bond between father and daughter. Between the past and present. Between art and life.
RED talks about robbers stealing oil paintings. About downloading images of paintings on the net. About love and lust. Having coffee with friends at the local café. And the cheesiness of Internet cafés. The book travels. And how!

The book travels an alphabetical journey where every letter of the alphabet represents a momentous incident or a place that’s described in that chapter. The book also literally travels to St. Petersburg and Dehradun. And through letters to New York.

What was wonderful about the book was that every few chapters there are these marvelous sentences that leap out at you. And they stick with you. Such as:

In letters to an estranged spouse:
“Have you seen those missing ads- “Putli beta. Come home. All forgiven. No questions asked. Papa Serious.” --- That’s me.”
Or
“I exercised, had a shower and went to bed. (The beds too wide. Come home)”

Or this one I really loved. After this guys daughter (Manda) has gone away after 2 months with him.
“She left something behind. Manda’s touch on every light switch” :-)

My Epiphany:
Right from the beginning of the book I caught myself trying to make sense of the story. Trying to second guess what would happen next. Trying to guess how the lives of the different characters would meet. How the book would at some point come together.

In the beginning of the book by trying to second guess at every step I forgot to enjoy the book. However after a few chapters I forgot about trying to figure out how it will end. And I let myself get lost in each chapter I was reading. And I found myself loving the beauty of each chapter, each moment of reading the book. And then I had an epiphany. This book was like life. You have to sometimes just let go and enjoy the moment. Stop trying to figure out how your life is going to turn out. Take it one step at a time. And every chapter will be lovely.

The book comes together in the end. And so will life. Stop trying to second guess it.