excelsior

Day had a way of shaking Lacewood awake. Slapping it lightly, like a newborn. Rubbing its wrists and reviving it. On warm mornings, you remembered: this is why we do things. Make hay, here, while the sun shines. Work, for the night is coming. Work now, for there is no work in the place where you are going.
May made it seem as if no one in this town had ever sinned. Spring unlocked the casements. Light cured the oaks of lingering winter doubt, lifting new growth from out of nothing, leaving you free again to earn your keep. When the sun came out in Lacewood, you could live.



These are the first two paragraphs from novel called Gain, by Richard Powers. Powers is a MacArthur fellow, winner of awards, writer of other books, and all-around novelistic virtuoso. I will be reading this book until I finish it. There will be updates and excerpts. Go ahead and read the paragraphs out loud, if you hadn’t already. When voiced, their secrets are not held so close.