Tuesday, December 4, 2007

The Last First Step

Today I took the first step on the last leg of a long journey, cracking open Terry Goodkind’s “Confessor” to read his 11th and final entry in the brilliant and fabulously successful Sword of Truth series.

I finished the previous novel, “Phantom,” earlier this year; it’s been about six months since I’ve read anything from Goodkind. In that time, his books and his characters sorta slipped out of my mind and soul—which I needed. Rarely have I been enraptured with novels like I’ve been with these works. Not wanting to encounter anything out of context in “Confessor,” though, I went back and reread “Phantom” this past month, and it was a much-needed refresher. Many of the important smaller details were buried under the often devastating major events in that novel (I thought, for example, the novel ended on a certain scene when there’s actually a whole other chapter afterward).

But this past week as I drew to the close of “Phantom,” that old fire started blazing anew, somewhere down where my heart meets my soul. Originally I’d planned to read “Confessor” while I’m off work during Christmas week, but now I’m wondering if the book will last that long. As I mentioned earlier this year, Goodkind’s characters have a way of sticking with me—I can envision some long days and nights of reading in my very near future.

I’m actually shocked this last novel is only 600 pages; with everything yet to be decided, I don’t know how Goodkind can possibly wrap even most of it up in those few leaves. I don’t know when I’ve ever wanted more to read the last page of a novel; that temptation will only grow stronger in the coming days, I’m sure.

I mention this here because, obviously, I’ll be reading “Confessor” on the Metro. I pondered just leaving it for home since its considerable heft makes for uncomfortable positioning on a subway train, but there’s no way I could do it; no matter what else I’d bring with me, I’d only be thinking about “Confessor” anyway, so why waste my time in denial?

So forgive me if you see me on the train and I don’t notice you. I’m a little preoccupied.

If you read Goodkind’s work, you’ll understand.

***

On a side note: For years I’ve listened to music while reading. It helps me focus, blocking out all other outside noises. This is especially true on the subway, since there’s always a chance for idle conversation nearby. Sometimes I get lucky and the music I’m listening to meshes perfectly with the text. Examples that come to mind right away are J.R.R. Tolkien and Led Zeppelin; and William Gibson and the Yeah Yeah Yeahs and PJ Harvey.

For the longest time, though, I had a hard time finding music that fit with Goodkind. His images and impact are so powerful, I didn’t want the wrong albums associated with the books. Some happy accidents have occurred by necessity on Metro, though, and has led me to trust in the following albums to get me through a Goodkind-laden subway trip: AFI’s “Decemberunderground” (for its primal and all-encompassing rage), Arcade Fire’s “Funeral” and “Neon Bible” (for their ethereal otherworldliness), the Dropkick Murphys’ “The Warrior’s Code” (for its sheer power and Celtic influences, both evocative of Goodkind), and Johnny Cash’s “American V: A Hundred Highways,” for its stark beauty, pure faith, bittersweet love, and utter, unafraid strength in the face of death.