Running in the Family: A Reflection on a Beautiful Memoir

I wrote this response log tonight for English 10.

Daniel Perkes
Period One
Ms. Orser
November 17, 2009

Running in the Family: A Reflection on a Beautiful Memoir
Running in the Family was written by Michael Ondaatje in 1982

For my regional novel, I chose Running in the Family, a wonderfully crafted memoir by Michael Ondaatje, writer of The English Patient. The book is about Ondaatje’s travels to Ceylon, on the island of Sri Lanka. Probably the funniest image I recall from the novel is when he writes about his grandmother, Lalla. “Lalla’s great claim to fame was that she was the first woman in Ceylon to have a mastectomy. It turned out to be unnecessary but she always claimed to support modern science…. the false breast would never be still for long.” (Page 123) I think that this story really shows that although there are a decent number of clichés and expected descriptions in this book (like smoking on a porch or using a shotgun to rid a house of a snake), it is ultimately an enchanting and rewarding reading experience that brings the reader into a new realm and allows you to enjoy the laughter and smell the smells of Ondaatje’s Sri Lanka. For example, the chapter entitled Lunch Conversation (Pages 105 to 109) is merely an account of a family member who’s telling a story that’s very confusing by virtue of its many generations and confusing family relationships. Again, I enjoyed reading this part of the book, as well as the cavalcades of Lalla’s fake breasts (she went through a few).
Another feature of Running in the Family that I’d like to mention is the perfect storytelling places that Ondaatje describes eloquently. In the chapter Jaffna Afternoons, he writes, “The walls, painted in recent years a warm rose-red, stretch awesome distances away to my left to my right and up towards a white ceiling. When the Dutch first built this house egg white was used to paint the walls.” (Page 24) This was a description of the old governor’s home in Jaffna, at the northern tip of Sri Lanka. Ondaatje later goes on to say that the morning had “been spent with my sister and my Aunt Phyllis trying to trace the maze of relationships in our ancestry.” (Page 25) The rest of that short chapter tells about how the stories were told, and how rich their experience was as they sat in the huge old building.
In conclusion, Running in the Family is a beautiful book about a family that’s as interesting and unique as the landscapes and experiences they go through in their lives. From fake body parts to floods and from cobras to silly photos, the Ondaatje family was wild, witty, humorous, intelligent, and vibrant. Michael Ondaatje makes a great point on page 179: He says that “during certain hours, at certain years in our lives, we see ourselves as remnants from the earlier generations that were destroyed.” I think that this quote is significant because he’s saying that we must view ourselves as pieces of our ancestors; new and unique, but also containing traits and traditions that have been in our families for years.

Why Do We Blog?

I know I haven't posted in a while. I've been busy with concerts, shows, and things of that nature.

What I'd like to discuss briefly today is motivation. For example, why do we blog? Maybe we blog for attention - we crave the minds of our readers, and the pleasure they get as they laugh or learn from our writing. Or maybe we're bored. I know that browsing the Internet does have its lulls. Does blogging give us something to do when we need an activity? Maybe so.

I think that I blog because I like the feeling of being part of a modern method of expression. I'd like to think I brighten someone's day a little bit when they read my posts. It's my mark on the Internet, and the world (in a small way).

So how about you? Why do you blog? If not, then why don't you blog? Do it!

:P