"If there is an infinite aspect to space," writes Joseph Brodsky, "it is not its expansion, but its reduction. If only because the reduction of space, oddly enough, is always more coheren. It's better structured and has more names: a cell, a closet, a grave."
The outcome of a long-awaited first meeting is often disappointing. The same is true of an encounter with a dead person, except that there's no need to hide the disappointment: in that sense, a dead person is always more agreeable than a living one."
It is a thin, amazing book of essays. Very well suited when travelling or walking through a city, even one so familiar. Do not read it fast. Take your time. Stare out of the window. Read a few more sentences. Read them again, your thoughts wandered the last six words or so. I don't agree with every observation she makes, but most are breath taking.
