Blah, blah

I'm still in bed. I wish I could report that I am now on deaths door, however I am still only suffering from a head cold. I am not sure if I should have even stayed home from work, other than not wanting to give my cold to all of my co-workers. I actually do feel pretty fagged out (if you'll excuse the expression) and I sound like I have been gargling with ground glass. On the whole it is just irritating.

So I am in bed with my laptop and a copy of "Our Mutual Friend". I had meant to pick up "Portrait of a Lady" as I mentioned, so I went over to the bookshelf and grabbed the fat book. I just grabbed the wrong fat book. It must have been kismet. It is perfect for my mood. I had forgotten what a dark book it actually is. There is of course Dickens' humor, but that is set against an umber background. There are so many wonderful characters and in some ways I feel as though it is less sentimental than "Bleak House". The flawed characters are more humanly flawed and the noble characters, more humanly noble, and for me Lizzie Hexam is his most appealing heroine, she is more three dimensional and far less idealized. The novel still has the high gloss of Victorian morality, but with some of the shine worn off. At any rate, I think a dark book, filled with greed, jealousy, murder, betrayal, deception and star crossed love, set in a murky background better suits my mood.

With any luck I will be back in my own grey January world of the 21st century tomorrow, dealing with far less universal problems. Such as who double booked the conference room? A bit more like a Barbara Pym novel. I guess high drama is where you find it.