First Cuts are the Hardest

I finally finished reading the novel Half of a Yellow Sun by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie. I’ve been reading it in small jags on the train to and from work. A fiction work based on actual events of the internal conflict in Nigeria in the early 70’s. The story was raw because it addressed the massacres of the Igbo people during that time. It was not an easy read but it helped paint a picture in my head about how people live and get by in a time of war.

Having lived in the States most of my life, I have not seen war up close. Conflicts have always taken place in other countries. And although 9/11 was a tragedy, it does not constitute a war time reality. As I write my novel, I am trying not to sensationalize a rebellion. In fact, I am thinking about the day to day grind of living through an extended war in the States, in the distant future. What would that look like? What are the sounds? Who would survive? How would people live? At one point, I had a group of scavengers enter the picture but it started to go down the path of a zombie movie and that’s not really what I’m trying to create with this science fiction story. That section will be axed shortly. So Half of a Yellow Sun has helped create a mental image of what the states might look like if we were caught up in an extended internal conflict. I’m hoping to depict it a gritty naturalistic way.

My wheels are spinning and I just need some traction to get going on revisions. The first cuts are always the hardest so I plan on working on those tonight.

I also wanted to make a quick mention of an interesting sci-fi movie I watched last night called Code 46 (2004). The premise revolves around genetic engineering and IVF. And how human cloning had gotten to the stage where people needed to get genetically tested before they could be permitted to have sex because they could potentially have too many genetic markers in common. Tim Robbins and Samantha Morton are the leads…and I love them both in this film. At times, the film gets a bit esoteric regarding fate and destiny but the science and politics of control over sexual desire is really quite fascinating. If you have Netflix, you can stream this movie until Friday (4/1/11).

Peace,

Lily~

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