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About dying – when the river stops


I recently read I Curse the River of Time by Per Petterson. AN introspective story of son and Mother. The title comes form a quote of Chairman Mao. Time does not stand still, things change. Petterson makes an excellent observation about dying, when the river stops.

“.. but when it came to dying, I was scared. Not of being dead, that I could not comprehend, to be nothing was impossible to grasp and therefore nothing really to be scared of, but the dying itself I could comprehend, the very instant where you know that now comes what you have always feared, and you suddenly realise that every chance of being the person you really wanted to be, is gone for ever, and the one you were, is the one those around you will remember. Then that must feel like someone’s strong hands slowly tightening their grip around your neck until you can breathe no more, and not at all as when a door is slowly pushed open and bright light comes streaming out from inside and a woman or a man you had always known and liked, maybe always loved, leans out and gently takes your hand and leads you to a place of rest, so mild and so fine, from eternity to eternity.”

Who says the Hungarians are the ones who are always obsessing over depressing situations? 🙂

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