Wallace Stegner wrote All the Little Live Things in 1991. There is an attentiveness in the novel to the nuances of what lives around us and of which we are a part that we may pay scant attention to. Steven Connor's book might be considered a variation on that theme. His consideration encompases the odds and ends of our built culture that surround us and with which we interact. I am awaiting a copy for full indulgence but in the meantime, you may want to take a look at this Guardian review of Paraphernalia: the curious lives of magical things. http://www.guardian.co.uk/books/2011/jul/08/paraphernalia-magical-things-connor-reviewScholars, authors, researchers are, in a very real sense, engaged in telling us to pay attention to what is around us whether people, places or objects. Tuning our distracted senses to the nuances of life is much needed, particularly when we seem to experience so much of life mediated through a narrow range of sensory channels in the form of screens and speakers. It isn't that this medium is all bad but overindulgence may mean we need to be drawn to other important aspects of watchfulness that we have neglected to practice.
[ Image from: The Paris Review ]
