Savoring

by Amy Nuismer
My reaction to The Book of Mev so far is that it is simply amazing. I love reading every page and I’m not exaggerating in the least. I find myself wishing I had more time to read it and yet don’t want to finish too quickly so that I can savor every word; when I’m done there will be no more. I feel so honored to have taken this class and yet reading about Mev I can’t help but wonder what I’ve done with my life-wishing I’d done more, seen more, read more and that I could be more like her in so many ways. It’s funny reading your professor’s book, it makes you realize how much of a person remains hidden, buried beneath the surface and this amazing book offers a glimpse into someone’s world.

I think about our coffee conversation and how we talked mostly about me. I hate talking about myself, how I wish I could just listen and absorb, that I was better at asking insightful questions and capable of eliciting honest and sincere responses (like Mev could). I truly love this book, it’s something I’d pick up to read myself and it’s just so great that I’m at a loss for really descriptive adjectives. I wish I could have met Mev and asked her so many questions, just been around her and observed her. While I’m captivated by her person in the book, I’m also dreading reading on because I know she dies and I don’t want it to happen though it already has. How do you go on after finding the love of your life? No one can make you as happy as they did. That’s the risk of loving-loss. But this book makes me sure that it’s worth the risk.

Amy is taking Social Justice 361-01 in the fall 2006 semester.