좋은날

오랜만에 교보에 들렀다. ( 오랜만에 -_-;;;)
잠깐의 짬이 났을 뿐이지만, 바로 앞의 낯익은 갈색빌딩과 광화문역 지하도를 보니, 좀이 쑤셨다.

회사에서 걸어서 15분 정도 걸리는 광화문의 '교보문고'
보통 아트용품 파는 입구 쪽으로 들어가는데, 문 입구에 신간및 미는책(?), 혹은 선물용(?) 책들이 있다.
그 곳을 쓰윽 훑어보고, 조금 더 들어가면, 베스트셀러따위를 모아 놓은( 해리포터 같은거) 곳이 있고, 그 다음 매대에 신간코너가 있다. 알라딘에서 매일매일 신간을 체크하지만, 간혹, 보지 못한 신간을 발견하곤 한다. 혹은, 알라딘에서 보고 관심있었던 신간의 실물을 확인하고 실망해서 맘 속으로 보관함에서 삭제시키기도 하고, 혹은 옳다구나 하며 보관함에서 장바구니로 옮기곤 한다. (맘속으로)

혼자 갈때는 딱히 맘 속 들여다보지 않는데,
오늘은 누군가와 함께 갔기에 이런저런 소리 떠든다. 내가 떠드는 소리를 나도 함께 듣는다.

' 안 좋은 일 있을때 여기 와요. 죽 둘러보면서, 사람들이 보다가 비뚤게 놓은 책들을 바로 맞춰놔요.'
워낙에 종종가니, 새로운 책은 거의 없다. 그러니 훑어보며, 책정리나 할밖에.
사실, 친구들끼리 오거나, 연인들끼리, 혹은 부모와 자식간에 와서 책을 고르면서 ' 이 책 어떨까' 내지는, '재밌는 책 읽고 싶어. 심심해' 하는 사람들 보면, 옆에서 뭐라 한마디 해주고 싶어 입이 근질거린다.
'저기, 그 책 읽으실꺼면, 차라리 이 책이 훨씬 재밌는데' , '저기, 알랭 드 보통은 키스앤 텔 보다는 '우리 사랑할까' 가 더 재밌는데, 아님, 처음에 나온 '나는 왜 너를 사랑하는가' 부터 읽으시던지' 라고 말하고 싶어져 버리는거다.

그렇게 또 바리바리 찜하고, 사고, 눈도장 찍어 놓은 책들.

E.M. 포스터의 '인도로 가는 길'  

포스터의 전집이 꾸준히 나온다.
 전집이 새로 나온다고 했을때 가장 읽고 싶었던 책이다. ' 인도로 가는 길'

 포스터의 마지막 소설이고,
 인도와 영국간의 문화적 갈등을 그린 소설이다. 라는건 별로 재미없는 한줄 설명이고, 포스터의 소설이 늘 그렇듯이, 낭만적인 어조에 답답하게 예의바른 처녀, 사랑의 불확실성 등이다.
 타임지 선정 '현대100대 영문소설' 에 선정되었으며,

 데이빗 린 감독에 의해 영화화되기도 하였다.

 주제 사라마구의 '돌뗏목'
 '눈먼자들의 도시' 를 옛날옛적에 사 놓고 안 읽은지라
 참고 있었는데, 그만 관심이 가져버렸다.

 이베리아반도가 유럽대륙에서 떨어져 나가기 시작한다.  
 흡사 돌뗏목과 같은 이베리아반도는 이리 저리 흔들리며 서쪽으로 서쪽으로 이동한다.
 전조 : 젊은 여성 조안나가 막대기로 땅에 선을 그으면 결코 지워지지 않는다.
 어부 조아힘이 무거운 돌을 파도에 던지면, 중력을 무시하고 가라앉지 않는다. (계속 통통 튕긴다)  선생인 호세가 움직일때마다 엄청난 새떼들이 따라다닌다. 약사인 페드로는 땅이 흔들리는걸 느낄 수 있는 유일한 이고, 농사 일을 하는 마리아의 손으로부턴 끊임없이 실이( 뜨게질실 같은거!) 줄줄 흘러 나온다. 이들 역시 대피하던 와중에 우연히, (필연적으로, 운명적으로) 만나게 되고, 세 남자와 두 여자, 그리고 개! 의 여행이 시작된다.

http://www.stoneraft.nl/

 

 이은화 '21세기 유럽  현대미술관 기행' 
 

 이건 선물용으로 한권 더 사기로 했다.
 정말 '이러셔도 되는겁니까?' 할정도로 저렴한 가격에
 두툼한 알짜배기 내용에, 풍부한 도판이다.

영국쪽 작가들 이름이 반갑고, '사치 겔러리'는 워낙에 유명해져버렸으나, 돈 내야 하서 항상 빠졌던 코스;; 런던에 공짜로 갈 수 있는 미술관들이 왠간히 많아야지.
데미언 허스트의 작품은 천안의 아라리오 겔러리에서도 감상할 수 있고, 유대인 박물관은 진중권 수업들을때 귀에 딱지 앉게 들었던 심볼이다.

이런저런 잡다한 주어들은 이야기들로 '21세기유럽 현대미술관 기행'을 덥썩 샀는데,
근래 산 책들중 가장 만족스러운 책이었다.

 자크 카조트 '사랑에 빠진 악마'

 워낙에 판타지라면 환장하는데,
 ' 환상문학의 기원'으로 알려지는 작품이라고 한다.

 이삭줍기 세계문학 시리즈를 좋아한다.
 가격이 점점 비싸지는건 좀 불만이지만,
 외도하기 좋은( 혹은 이게 내 적성일지도!) 독특한 양질의 책을 꾸준히 소개해주니,
 열심히 사줘야 한다.

* 교보문고가 이제 10시까지 한다.
9시에서 10시 사이에 책을 많이 사야겠다.
서점이 점점점점 늦게 문닫았으면 좋겠다.

차미안 허시

Above: Charmian shortly after introducing the Anatolian Karabash breed into the UK

Write a novel based on the imagination of your son, leave it in an attic for fifteen years, and then find it’s a best-seller. It is rare that someone sits down and writes a successful novel first time round, but Charmian Hussey has achieved that in a life that has seen her turn her hand to a variety of tasks.      Wife of Oxfordshire Mason John Hussey, her book took 18 months to write, and reflects her love of the world’s indigenous tribes and her concern for the rainforests.      But the literary world is a recent experience. Her career began in the fashion world where she modelled for top fashion and couture houses. She followed this with several years as a student of archaeology, culminating in a D.Phil at Oxford.      For Charmian, Freemasonry has been an interesting part of her life, but it did not start out in a positive vein. She explains: “My previous husband was a Mason and his Masonry was very secretive, almost cloak and dagger. If he went to Lodge meetings I was not told about it, and he was always careful to lock away his regalia.      “It was a subject which was not discussed and in which I was not included. There was certainly no suggestion that I should know that any of his friends were Masons.      “I was very surprised when I met my present husband. He has a more relaxed attitude to Freemasonry and I have been included in ladies’ nights, which I have enjoyed enormously.      “When I meet his friends, I’m delighted if I learn they are brother Masons. The history of Freemasonry fascinates me, and I’ve joined in some interesting discussions. I have been pleased to find there is not the obsessive secrecy I’d come to expect during my previous marriage. But that was in the 1960s. Maybe things were different then and Freemasonry was less open. I welcome the more open attitude now.”      Although starting out in the fashion world, within a couple of years she had decided “to do something much more serious with my brain, and I was bitten by the bug of archaeology.”      She enrolled as a student at the University of London, Institute of Archaeology, studying the conservation and restoration of antiquities.      She adds: “Whilst on that course, I was asked by the British School of Archaeology in Iraq to help with the rescue and conservation of the carved ivories being excavated at the Assyrian site of Nimrud, near Mosul.

     The excavations had earlier been directed by Professor (later Sir) Max Mallowan, whom I had come to know at the London Institute.”
     Nimrud was the place where his wife Agatha Christie had written some of her most famous books whilst accompanying him on the excavations.
     There was a tradition that, on returning to England, some of those who had worked at Nimrud were invited by Max and Agatha to stay with them at Greenway House – their home at Churston Ferrers in Devon.
     Charmian received an invitation. She recalls: “It was a wonderful experience in a classic house-party situation. I stayed for about ten days. In many ways it was quite formal. Everyone dressed for dinner, of course. But we also had a lot of fun.
     “We had picnics on Dartmoor and sailed up and down the Dart with Max at the helm of his small boat. There were barbecues on the beach by the boathouse, and we trekked around antique shops, because Agatha’s son in- law was a great collector of porcelain.”
     She vividly remembers some wonderful conversations with the great mystery writer.
     “Agatha Christie has often been billed as an awkward and somewhat shy person, but I found her good to talk to, and she was an excellent hostess.
     “I had one especially memorable discussion with her, when I was brave enough to say I would like to be a writer. Agatha talked to me about the importance of the mix or recipe for a story – the proper balance of light and dark – humour, mystery and intrigue. Her advice stayed in my mind.”
     After four years as a student, Charmian spent two years in Turkey, working on archaeological sites and involved in her own research project, which would later form the basis for her doctor of philosophy degree in archaeology and anthropology at Oxford.

Photograph by Marie Minchington Above: Enjoying the countryside The Valley of Secrets by Charmian Hussey, Hodder Children’s Books, Hardback £12.99, ISBN 0 340 89349 4. Paperback £5.99.

Not the least of Charmian’s achievements in Turkey was importing a new breed of dog into Britain.      She explains how it came about: “As a child I was a passionate animal lover. Horses and big dogs were my special interest. Being brought up in a semi-detached house with a small garden in a north London suburb meant that my involvement with such creatures existed, alas, only in the books I read and in my imagination. Yet I longed for a real involvement.”      Visits to the British Museum as a child would find her gazing at the famous Assyrian wall reliefs. “My interest always focused on the big, handsome, smooth-coated, mastifflike dogs of war, parading on tight leashes with tails held high.      “Imagine my excitement when, whilst working on the excavations at Nimrud many years later, I caught glimpses of similar kinds of dogs on the plains of Northern Iraq! Descendants of the ancient dogs?      “Imagine my even greater excitement when I discovered a distinct breed of dog in Turkey, remarkably similar to those ancient dogs. Unknown outside Turkey, this was a tall, strongly built dog – mastiff-like in appearance, with short, fawn or striped brindle coat and black mask.”      The colloquial Turkish name for the breed was Karabafl, although they were sometimes referred to as ‘çomar’, which means mastiff, or as the Kangal dog, since breeding had been centred in the district of Kangal.      “During two years living in Turkey, I came to realise that the Karabafl was a much valued breed and that pockets of carefullybred dogs could be found in certain regions. It was a magnificent breed of dog. All my ‘dog longings’ returned. I wanted one. Simple as that! But acquiring a good example of this much prized breed was not simple. Quite another story.”      Shortly afterwards, Charmian introduced the first pair of dogs to the UK and the Kennel Club registered them in their Rare Breed files. In due course, the breed became known as the Anatolian (Karabash) Dog with its own special standard.      The Anatolian Karabash Dog Club was founded in 1968. Unfortunately, the Kennel Club later registered other imported Turkish dogs of no specific type and included them in the files along with the Karabash.      She says sadly: “A misunderstanding of the Turkish language led certain people to believe that a simple phrase which only means ‘a shepherd’s dog’ (of any type) was the title of a specific breed. The registration of a motley crew of dogs, fitting into that general category, together with the establishment of an alternative breed club for generalised shepherds’ dogs, led to an absurd confusion.

     “This mess was followed in due course by the Anatolian Karabash Dog Club, somewhat in the style of David and Goliath, having to take the Kennel Club to court to fight to keep their special breed’s name and standard. But, although the tiny breed club won the day, the whole absurd scenario is now being re-enacted, with the official stance that the Karabash (Kangal Dog) is not a specific breed; that all big shepherds’ guarding dogs from Turkey, including the Karabash, are one and the same breed and, as such, qualify for pedigree registration as Anatolian Shepherd Dogs, with a standard which is broad enough to cover them all!
     “Whatever happened to common sense?” She remarks: “It is 40 years since I first introduced a fine breed to this country. As Patron of The Anatolian Karabash Dog Club, I now find myself heading an organisation, set up for an acknowledged breed, the existence of which is now denied by the British ‘powers that be’.
     “The bizarre story behind these events would make a great book or documentary,” she adds. “For truth can be stranger than fiction.”
     So how did The Valley of Secrets come about?
     “My son Nicholas is now 32. When he was six he was greatly upset by a television feature about the destruction of the Amazon.
     When he was 11 he created some novel, fantasy animals in the round, obtained a UK patent, aged 12, and later a US patent. He believed that, as refugees from the Amazon, the creatures could become ambassadors for the forests, raising money and awareness in an attempt to save the forests.
     “As a dyslexic, Nick was unlikely to write his story: how the creatures had been brought to England early in the 20th century; how, even as we spoke, in 1985, they were living in secret somewhere in Cornwall. So, I hijacked his story! It took 18 months to write.
     “With fantasy set in total reality, and unable to write about anything that I don’t understand, I found that I needed a lot of help – support and knowledge that was given with great generosity by people who are top experts in their fields: botany; anthropology; history of art; pharmacology etc.”
     Charmian is now working on another book and is about halfway through it. Like The Valley of Secrets, it is written for children of all ages.

http://www.mqmagazine.co.uk/issue-15/p-48.php?PHPSESSID=c59cd231db419873a6a6

작가 프로필만 보고 덥썩 사버린 책

 

차미언 허시 Charmian Hussey

한때 일류 모델로 활동하기도 했던 차미언 허시는 옥스퍼드 대학에서 고고학 박사 학위를 받았다. 터키산 사냥개 카라바쉬의 고대혈통 연구자로 알려져 있으며, 중동지역에서 아시리아 유적을 발굴하기도 하였다.

중동에서 돌아온 직후, 고고학자 맥스 말로완의 초대를 받게 되는데, 여기서 그의 부인이자 세계적인 추리 소설가인 아가사 크리스티를 만나게 되었다. 이 운명적인 만남으로 허시는 소설가가 되겠다는 꿈을 갖게 되었고, 마침내 이 책 <비밀의 계곡>을 쓰게 되었다.

이 책은 그녀의 아들이 들려준 환상적인 이야기. 즉, 환상의 동물들이 아마존 우림을 구하는 사절단으로 등장한다는 이야기에서 영감을 얻어 쓰기 시작하였다. 이 책에서 그녀는 영국 남부 콘월 지방의 아름다운 전원을 배경으로 비밀스런 동,식물들의 존재를 매력적인 미스터리로 풀어내고 있다.

현재는 남편 존과 함께 콘월의 외딴 계곡에서 땅을 일구며 후속작품을 쓰고 있다.

반전은 없다

오늘 아침, '정치적으로 올바른 추리소설 하나' 라는 제목으로 리뷰를 썼었다.

마이페이퍼 링크 주소 : http://www.aladin.co.kr/blog/mypaper/822318

저녁을 먹으며, 이 소설에 대해 이야기하다 보니, 그게 아니다. 이 책에 '반전은 없다'
식스센스에서, '브루스 윌리스' 가 사실은 귀신이었어, 라던가, 니콜키드만이랑 걔네 가족들이 사실은 다 유령이야. 라는건 반전. '살인자들의 섬' 도 반전.

하지만, 이 책은 사실은 '반전'은 없는 것이 아닌가 하는 생각.
'정치적으로 올바르다' 라고 까지 생각했던 내가 사실은 '정치적으로 올바르지 않았던' 것은 아닌가 하는 생각.

그렇다면, 그나마 '반전이 정치적으로 올바르다'고 생각해서 별 하나 더 줘서 ★★★ 줬는데, ★★ 줘야 하는 걸까? 게다가, 그걸 '반전'으로 써먹었으니 ★ 줘야 하는건 아닐까?

사실, 이 정도로 박하게 평가받을 책은 아닌지도 모른다.
엉성하지만, 재미있게 읽고 나서, 이렇게 투덜거릴 일도 아니지만, '기대하지 말하야지' 하는 정도의 기대해서 그런지 실망이 크다.

[퍼온글] [질문 공모 이벤트] 김중만에게 질문하면, 답변과 함께 선물이!

전출처 : 알라딘도서팀 > [질문 공모 이벤트] 김중만에게 질문하면, 답변과 함께 선물이!

아래에 댓글로, 김중만에게 사진에 대해 묻고 싶은 것들을 적어주세요.
댓글 공개로 적어주시구요.
질문하신 분들 중 총 50분께 <김중만 카메라 워크>(가제)를 출간 즉시 보내드릴 예정입니다.
최고의 질문자 분껜 디지털 카메라 선물도 드려요.
기간은 2월 14일~2월 28일입니다. 좋은 기회를 놓치지 마세요. ^^