The power of stories

There is much to love in Elif Batuman's "Stage Mothers." It was one of those beautiful reading experiences where my mind jumped from one idea to another without quite being sure I was done processing the preceding ones. First, I thought about when I first caught the theater bug--actually, it was a multi-stage (no pun intended) affliction, but I remember each hit. My parents didn't take me to much theater when I was a kid--as less than fluent English speakers, it would have been mostly lost on them, so they went to more ballet and opera. But when I first saw good plays, I was hooked.

Anyway, then I thought of that woman's transformation and how stunning and yet how natural it was. She reminded me of Susan Boyle, and then of Elaine Page's reminder that Susan Boyle didn't need a makeover, and that the best thing for her is to be true to herself. Which, of course, brought my mind to the words of Polonius (to thine own self be true), which I couldn't help but consider in contrast to those of my mother (be someone else so you can get a boyfriend).

But the big point of the article was the power of storytelling, and the power and privilege of reading and writing. Of creating and absorbing stories.