Among the Hedges by Sara Mesa

Author:Sara Mesa
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Open Letter
Published: 2021-02-15T00:00:00+00:00

One thing is for sure: Soon’s musical tastes have changed. Old Man catches her softly singing Why don’t you see it? Why don’t you feel it? I don’t know, I don’t know. You don’t have to live next to me, just give me my equality, and he interrupts her: Soon, do you know what you’re singing? She has no idea; she was singing to herself without thinking. “Mississippi Goddam,” one of Nina Simone’s legendary songs! She composed it in only an hour! It was one of her first protest songs! Those aren’t the only lyrics Soon has learned inadvertently, and that’s in spite of the fact that she’s not very good at English. Old Man isn’t either, but he’s memorized all Nina’s songs in all their versions, plus where they come from, who composed them and on what date, their translations and meanings, their histories and anecdotes, where Nina sang them for the first time, where the last. Of course, he’s collected the complete discography of his goddess, including rarities and vinyl, even though he doesn’t have a record player.

For Soon, it’s still a mystery where he gets his money, though it’s clear he doesn’t have much, and that he spends the little he does have almost exclusively on his hobbies. She has the impression that the only thing he eats is the junk food he shares with her, and buns dipped in cafe con leche. He’s told her himself that he buys three buns a day: one for the birds and two for him. Two buns a day, the junk food, and maybe a banana—it’s the only fruit he allows himself, he says: the cheapest, pure phosphorus! That must be his basic diet. When Soon unwraps her sandwich and the smell of cold cuts wafts out, he just watches in silence. Soon usually offers him a bite and he always refuses, but she thinks that’s just a show of refinement, and he’s really dying for a taste.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.