{"id":465,"date":"2019-05-27T11:37:17","date_gmt":"2019-05-27T16:37:17","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/ldinmanbooks.com\/?p=465"},"modified":"2019-05-27T11:40:52","modified_gmt":"2019-05-27T16:40:52","slug":"the-hour-has-struck","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/ldinmanbooks.com\/index.php\/2019\/05\/27\/the-hour-has-struck\/","title":{"rendered":"The hour has struck"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
\"\"<\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

Book o’clock has arrived at last!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I will probably make a more festive post later, but first, a meditation. There are special reasons why I chose to set the release date of Ryswyck<\/em> to Memorial Day. Quite apart from the logistical convenience of launching my book on a, well, memorable date that dovetailed with my project schedule, the theme of bearing witness to the loss of comrades and loved ones in war is a significant thread in this story.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

For those who have given “the last full measure of devotion,” the moment has already been folded and purled under the current of the river of time. But for us who bear witness, the moment demands ongoing recognition and respect. To lay down a token offering, to strike a light, to gather up prayers: these seemingly futile acts are the breath of our humanity. If we have forgotten to breathe, they revive us.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Among other things, I wanted to bear witness to the necessity of bearing witness. I wanted to show how indispensable each person is to both the waging of war and the making of peace. It’s no accident that the one character whose sacrifice provides the turning point in the darkest hour is the most ordinary person in the cast. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

This and other sacrifices are irreparable losses. But they are not irredeemable gifts. I’ve excerpted a moment of bearing witness from a moment just after the midpoint of the novel, in which Douglas lights a prayer for a lost comrade.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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He\u2019d promised Speir he would do this. Not that he knew what he was doing. His mother was no contemplative, and his siblings had scarcely had time to teach him anything but the rudiments of keeping a household light burning. All offerings are acceptable<\/em>, said the sage. Douglas hoped that was true. There was a saying that paired with that: Only offerings are acceptable<\/em>. That left out displays for others, gifts secretly intended to be temporary, and counters for negotiation, Douglas supposed. His hands were empty, even of the means to negotiate…<\/p>

Douglas took his light to an empty cleft in the undressed rock. He tipped a few hot, clear drops onto the rock and the crusts of older prayers, and held his light in the cleft until it was anchored.<\/p>

“He died as a soldier,\u201d he said quietly to his flame. \u201cBut he wasn\u2019t killed as a soldier. I\u2019m bearing witness to that.\u201d A crushing pressure, hardly an emotion, gripped him; he drew a breath against it.<\/p>

“Their names are eternally spoken,\u201d he finished. Then he bowed and left his offering of defiance before the burning lights.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Book o’clock has arrived at last! I will probably make a more festive post later, but first, a meditation. There are special reasons why I chose to set the release date of Ryswyck to Memorial Day. Quite apart from the logistical convenience of launching my book on a, well, memorable date that dovetailed with my<\/p>\n

Read More <\/i><\/a><\/span><\/div>\n

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