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Sunday, April 6, 2014

Irrecoverable loss

We all have experienced loss during our lives, but some losses are greater than others and more difficult to deal with. Recently, we experienced the loss of a dearly beloved Cocker Spaniel, Christie. She had been part of our family for a tad over thirteen years and was Jan's boon companion. Her loss was felt very deeply by both of us, but Jan has been the most severely affected. And over the years past, we have both had to deal with the loss of parents, something that is inevitable, but which nonetheless can be quite traumatic. Material losses most often can be replaced, but losing a beloved pet or a family member is not always easily dealt with. Yet, these are common losses and occur multiple times throughout our lives and we develop ways to cope with them that allow us to continue on with our lives.

How, then, would we deal with a catastrophic loss? If your house is lost in fire, flood or other such disaster, it can in time be replaced, but what if your home and all that was near and dear to you is lost so utterly that it ceases to exist? Not just your house, but all your neighbors and friends and the very land itself? Such a loss is irrecoverable. You cannot find them and bring them back. How then? Will you give in to despair or somehow muddle on after a great part of your life has been obliterated from the face of the earth?

Loss is a recurring theme in our books, from the trivial to the catastrophic, and our characters deal with it variously: some appear unaffected, others disintegrate under the pain of the loss while others deal with it reasonably well.

I think Menannon the Giant suffers the most loss throughout the Lindensaga, both catastrophic and significant. The trivial losses he ignores, but how fares he with the life-changing, irrecoverable losses to which he is subjected?

Ah, for that, you will have to read the books!  The first volume of the Lindensaga, The Last Giant: Transgression is getting closer to publication. Barring further interruptions, it should be out by Spring.

-- RLH