Rose-Colored Glasses

I truly believe that author Laura Resau must see the world through her own version of rose-colored glasses.  Her book The Red Glass is a delight to the senses.  I completely became lost in the moment.  I felt like I had gone to Mexico, I had fallen in love, I had saved the day.  Isn't that the purpose of great literature?!  It gave me hope that there are still authors that believe in the art of writing.  The best part was that it wasn't just detail for the sake of detail.  The details were intentional.

Normally I might incorporate quotes into something meaningful I'd like to add, but I know after reading the following quotes, you can develop your own meaningful connection.

"I pushed myself in the hammock with my foot, rocking back and forth.  Beams of sunlight sifted through the leaves, illuminating a patch of my left thigh, my right ankle, the center of my chest.  Above me, the layers of green shifted, like all the layers of myself.  Layers I'd forgotten about, or maybe never knew existed.  I saw my trail stretching before me.  Up ahead, it branched into two.  One route led through a forest of thickening fears to a small, closed-in life, and the other led...somewhere else." 

"Our trip had a sound track, like a film or a music video.  Angel played his shoe box full of tapes:  cumbia, salsa, merengue - a background to the scenery out the window and the antics in the van.  I liked the music.  When it was on, I couldn't stay wrapped in my separate world.  The pulsing beats pulled me, like gravity, into the planet of the van.  Surrounded by the music, I felt like someone else, riding into unknown territory, some adventurous woman in a movie."

"As he opened the van door, a little trail of sparks flew in his wake. Maybe static from his clothes and the sleeping bag. While he was outside, I felt a warm spot where his foot had touched the sheet over my thigh. When he came back through the van, he left another small trail of sparks, silent miniature fireworks."

"I held Pablo's hand, and when no one was looking, Angel would slip his hand into mine for a moment, or I would let my arm graze his, or he would touch me with the excuse of pointing out something and let his hand linger a few beats.  The crowd was pushing us into each other and we let it happen.  I loved the shade created just for a moment between his arm and mine, his face and my neck, my hair and his hand.  And in this space, I could almost forget that he was leaving for good."


As a lover of writing, both consuming and creating, her ideas about reading inspiring writing (many references to The Little Prince were included ), were, well, inspiring!  I truly enjoyed the peek into her craft, and she made me want to read everything she's written, just for the pleasure of reading.  This is why I want to read and write:  to be inspired and therefore inspire through absolute enjoyment.  It's what I missed as a kid...the escape, the mystery, the indulgence.

Bottom line:  READ THIS BOOK!  Let it spark something in you.