I
finished reading “The Last Enchantments” by Charles Finch this weekend. It’s a
novel about a young American’s year at Oxford after graduating from Yale and
working as an aide on an unsuccessful political campaign. I won’t give away any
more of the plot – I’ll save that for the end of the month when I discuss my
reading.
What
I want to talk about is a passage on page 239 of the hardback in which the main
character discusses Oxford in the winter. It reminded me of a similar view I’ve
had of Washington and Jefferson College where I went to college in the sixties.
First, the entry from the book:
“Already I’ve forgotten to explain
how the Bodleian looked under snow, how total the silence of that inner
courtyard became, above all how companionable it was for all of us working
anonymously together in the bright reading rooms, warm. How we all glanced
through the window from time to time at the chill fall of light, how honored
and safe it seemed to belong to that loose set of humans inside the Bod, in the
days after it snowed, for a moment present in the infinite continuum of Oxford.”
As
soon as I read that passage I immediately thought back to my undergraduate
days, actually my freshman year, when I would seek out a place to study my
mathematics and chemistry courses. The Thistle Building had a great study area
below the main floor of the building where the classes and laboratories were
located. The phrase “bright reading rooms, warm…” was what made me remember my
own days of winter studying. The under room was filled with overstuffed large leather
chairs for reading and studying, while interspersed among them were heavy,
overlarge dark wood rectangular tables where students could sit in dark wood chairs
with large spindle backs.
My
favorite spot, which we all would first seek out if we didn’t have much writing
to do, was the center of the room where two of those large stuffed chairs sat
as sentinels guarding large roaring wood fire. As soon as I sat in one of those
chairs I would be out in minutes, but it was so warm and cozy I was only
copying what everyone else did when they were lucky enough to get there first.
I
still remember the fire and snow outside and the chairs and the smell of
furniture polish, wood burning, and rich leather. It was a great place to read.
(Cambria 13 font)
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