Bernie Hay has come out with a short but lively compilation of her own experiences in life. Titled, “Lives that Touched my Own”, the reader on reaching the last page could honestly say, “ Well Bernie, it has touched my own life too!".
This narration is capable of eliciting lessons from one’s own life experiences and tuning one ‘to see the insights in the sights’ one sees and experiences daily. Each narration ends with her own reflection and insight that questions the reader as to why we missed the lessons of so many small but beautiful incidents in our own lives. This collection will educate the reader to sit back, think and reflect on the inner meaning of life’s incidents, past and present.
The reading is quite easy and palatable. The author has an array of words and phrases to rhyme and suit every occasion.
The scene becomes real in the wealth of the presentation. “... hordes of little yellow butterflies were circling me. They settled in large numbers on my dress - dressed in a yellow frock- crawling up my arms and neck to place tender butterfly kisses on my cheeks. I stood still so anxious was I not to brush the dust off the fragile wings of the little butterflies.”
Bernie has the ability to drive and direct the reader from chapter to chapter like the upcountry train, inching its way through the tunnel to another vista of breathtaking scenic beauty. Readers’ expectations are never betrayed. From incident to incident you can hop with confidence, joy and relaxation. There is hardly anything ever jarring or boring. The gentle flow from story to story, though oftentimes years and miles apart, is capable of attuning the reader to share her experience with one's own life.
Although the stories related mark the milestones of the author’s life set meaningfully from childhood to date, one could detect the hidden social changes and attitudinal nuances in Sri Lankan society. The dress (national dress), the language (ammi) honesty (Sena the naughty lad and the wrist watch retriever) have gone through their changes. The author still sees examples of honesty, gratitude, duty-consciousness and true friendship (falage). The insights extracted from minor incidents influence the reader towards a positive thinking gear. Joy and cheerfulness in life pervade the narratives. The sub-conscious mind has its own interpretations of dreams as experienced by the author.
Another observation worth it is the author’s self control in not digressing into a long harangue about everything the author knows about the celebrities. Perhaps an introduction to such personalities e.g. Rukmani Devi, Susanthika etc. in the Appendix might be helpful to the inquisitive reader especially to foreign readers.
Except for a few printing errors, all in all the book is a compilation of ideal relaxed reading with a gentle flow. As an educative instrument it will serve as an ideal gift reader to our A/L and University students who search for development of their English reading, speaking and writing skills today in Sri Lanka. |
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