return from spanish holiday

I’m back in the UK after a week of pure R&R in Spain.  We literally did nothing except hang out by the pool, hang out by the beach, eat, read, play PSP, and sleep.

OK, one day we did go on a little trip to find the famous salt lake whose mud supposedly contains powerful healing powers.  I personally didn’t partake in covering myself in mud, but the rest of the crew did.

My holiday reading list included the second half of John Updike’s Couples, Jay McInerney’s, Bright Lights, Big City and also his new short story collection, The Last Bachelor.

I found Updike’s Couples to be a fascinating exploration of the interpersonal dynamics of marital relationships, infidelity and the conditions that lead couples to stray into the tumultuous world of adultery, wife swapping, and boredom within a committed relationship like marriage.  I love his description of adultery as “a way of giving yourself adventures…of getting out in the world and seeking knowledge.”

I found McInerney’s Bright Lights, Big City an easy and fascinating read in the second person.  Like Updike, McInerney’s favorite subjects are sex and adultery.  McInerney aslo adds in a lot of drugs and dying of cancer in his subject matter.  Bright Lights, Big City paints a portrait of living in New York City in the 80’s, full of cocaine and all night parties and trying to get laid.  The Last Bachelor covers much the same territory only this time it’s post 9/11 New York City and somewhere in Tennessee of all places.  The fact that McInerney lives in both New York City and Tennessee probably give a clue as to why.  I like McInerney’s writing style and look forward to catching up and reading more of his work.

And now we are settling back into life as normal – laundry, dishes, housework, getting ready for work, and work proper.

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