My memory is based on triggers. Recollection does not simply occur, I need an influence to unlock a portion of my mind to unleash that which has been stored at some earlier point.
No endless quotations of songs or films or novels from me. If I hear a tune I can sing along but I may not know who it’s by or what it’s called. But the words flood as soon as I distinguish a compilation of notes. Ask me two days later the order of the words, and I stumble.
If I enjoy a film, I may recall the actors in it, the basic storyline, where it was set, the style, but all too often I can’t explain how it concluded. On a second screening I’ll be left guessing til the end unless I press pause and will myself to rack through memories to locate the outcome. Sometimes I can, sometimes I can’t.
It keeps life interesting. Books can be re-read, films watched over, songs heard as if for the first time despite dozens of listens.
Now and then a triggerless memory does occur. Ian McEwan’s short story collection First Love, Last Rites was the first of his writings that I read through recommendation from a friend. I still know which friend. And although only two of the stories remain in my mind to some degree, only one has been crystal clear since it’s reading about 7 years ago.
Solid Geometry would not let me put the book down for anything. I read page on page, compelled by what I read, and on its last sentences I sat up from my bed, numbstruck by the story that had just unfolded (and folded) before my eyes. Now and then the mention of mathematics fast forwards the storyline through me and I shiver.
Tonight I watched a short film made from Solid Geometry. Having seen the ads leading up to it I knew I couldn’t miss it. Fabulously shot, true enough to the story, I was very impressed by the depiction. But for anyone who gets a chance to see it, read the story first.