Dash it all!

I keep forgetting about the blog. Maybe I've been slipped some foxglove tea without my knowing. Hopefully I won't find myself in any awkward reenactments of a story I can't remember. The thought does highlight one of the aspects I appreciate about Ford's work though, namely the power of perception. Oftentimes the narrative deals with an experience that ends up an illusion, such as the hallucinatory rescue of a little girl, the dubious existence of Bolukuchet, or the entire life of an aspiring pianist. Memory and perception play a vital role for many of the characters, rendering their everyday life into something fantastical, or providing a key to understanding their own narrative. Again and again when memory or perception fail, the characters also meet their downfall, such as in A Man of Light, where the inability to remember ultimately leads to death. Other times, the lost memories of the past lead characters to new adventures as in Boatman's Holiday and Giant Land. I think I'm most intrigued by the fact that memory seems to act as an anchor to reality. The less control one has over one's own mind, the more fantastical the adventures become. Seems like a steep price to pay to enter the fantasy world.