A talent for recording perceptions
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ENDANGERED PLEASURES is perhaps mistitled as it's not credible to think any of the 67 things and activities listed, from the morning paper to cigarettes to bare feet to weekends to gambling to winter to babies, are actually in peril of extinction. "Unappreciated" might be more a apropos term instead of "endangered". The book's subtitle says it all more succinctly: IN DEFENSE OF NAPS, BACON, MARTINIS, PROFANITY AND OTHER INDULGENCES.
Author/essayist Barbara Holland has a remarkable talent for perceiving the small details of life and living. Or rather, a talent for remembering what she perceives and subsequently bringing it to the attention of the lumpish rest of us. For instance, on the "being there" phase of travel:
"The hee-haw of the ambulance in the foreign streets sings with a pure and alien glamour, quite unrelated to the irritating scream of emergency vehicles back home." Now, I've noticed that on my own overseas walk-abouts, but would never think it worth mentioning to the folks back home.
And, on a more sobering note, regarding the psychology of crowds:
"Face to face with, say, Adolph Hitler at a table for two, we would have jeered at his passions, protested, flounced out in a snit. In a crowd of thousands, all cheering and brandishing fists, we might have stood in the path of the electric current, felt the blood of common cause rise joyfully in our throats, and cheered too ... Deep inside each of us lurks a chained lemming, struggling to break free, and we need to keep an eye on it."
I admire Holland's talent for social commentary. She reminds me of Andy Rooney, but without the crankiness. Rooney might like to think he's a national treasure; Barbara truly is.
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Soft. Seductive. Introspective. Great fun.
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A marvelous compilation of the best pleasures of life. At times it made me feel guilty for enjoying myself so much. Holland's premise that we are loosing sight of simple, wholly self indulgent pleasure, hits the nail on the head. I found things I do and others I am certain to try. She missed my favorite of all, " the sun nap". My family thinks I'm part lizard and part cat. I can't seem to get past a good sunbeam without stopping for a quick solar charge.
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