One Note: Michael J. Seidlinger
I might be one confusing and eccentric “labyrinth” myself.
In One Note, Gabriel Blackwell asks writers for just that: one note, a single paragraph, on what they’re reading right now.
Today’s note comes courtesy of Michael J. Seidlinger:
I often believe our lives, like our very minds, are labyrinths in and of themselves. One could say that the words we use, these sentences, are labyrinths of meaning. The labyrinth. The search for meaning and the act of getting lost in the search. Quite the irony I must say. I recently devoured Victor Pelevin’s The Helmet of Horror in one sitting. I was surprised too. It was one of those books that seemed interesting, given that its intention is to retell the myth of Theseus and the Minotaur (and moreover the impenetrable and metaphorical labyrinth hinging hero versus seemingly impossible villain), but going in, I had no idea Pelevin’s chatroom narrative device would hold the myth and the subsequent philosophical deliberations so well. This is a book that stays with you. Depending on when you read it, it might even change you. Certainly, the myth is universal. I’d place the myth right next to timeless literary tropes but I might be one confusing and eccentric “labyrinth” myself. That’s exactly what the book does for the myth of Theseus and the Minotaur: it modernizes the central theme, one of human curiosity, for modern minds to get lost in. In many ways, The Helmet of Horror reminds us that the only way to find any truth is to tackle a labyrinth of logic and inquiry in order to “slay” the source. What a book, what a myth, what an experience. It doesn’t end after the completion of the reading. No. It continues, long after-the-fact. I’m still lost, I think. But what a thrill.
When Michael J Seidlinger isn’t consumed with language, he’s transforming into a graphic artist, musician, or professional boxer. When he’s not doing that, he’s turning into somebody else. His novels include The Day We Delay and In Great Company. His third book, The Sky Conducting, is set for release in March of 2012.
