Last week I met with one of my book clubs to discuss a favorite classic, Rebecca by Daphne Du Maurier. I first read this book three or four years ago. It can be somewhat daunting to reread books, especially suspense novels once the "who done it" is revealed. But, there is more to Rebecca than a murder mystery because of its characterization and its setting. There is something about a heroine without a first name. There is something about an austere, melancholy man who woes a nobody-woman into marrying him after a few drives in his car. There is something about an enchanting woman so many admired who dies mysteriously. There is something about a suspicious, grieving maidservant that exhales her chilling words through the page. There is something about Manderley, the beautiful estate of secrets. There is even more to say about the transformation of each character throughout, for all suspense stories should protray characters who are not what they seem. Some may say this book is like so many others, perhaps predictable. Yet, it may be argued that others have been inspired by Du Maurier's plot. But, then again she may have borrowed a few elements from Charlotte Bronte's Jane Eyre. (Incidentally, Jane Eyre was the first classic I read as a child. I read it again recently and rekindled that first love.) Either way, there is something about this story, something timeless, troubling, and delciously thrilling. If you have never read it, do! And read Jane Eyre while you're at it!

As I suspected, Astonishments is fast becoming one of my favorite books! The last quarter of the book is dog-eared on nearly every page. I especially connect with her spiritual poems. It is a joy to read her progression of faith. Up until the last, she wrote of God as evident by "On the Cross," her last poem written days before her death. The excerpts from The Notebook are also quite profound and allow access into her personal thoughts, struggles, and revelations. I especially like "A Witness to Process" given the approach of another Easter. Her line breaks are critical to the meaning of the poem and make the emphatic that much more powerful. I won't ruin the impact by quoting from it. It is a must-read in its original form.

As often happens when I like an author, I begin collecting any work I can get my hands on. I found Tomas Transtromer: Selected Poems 1954-1986 edited by Robert Haas in a second-hand bookstore in Stillwater, MN over ten years ago. I am thrilled that more collections of his poems are more readily available. I recently purchased The Half-Finished Heaven: The Best Poems of Tomas Transtromer chosen and translated by Robert Bly and Tomas Transtromer:The Great Enigma, New Collected Poems translated by Robin Fulton. So, here is my question...

Which translation of Kyrie is better?

I personally prefer Robin Fulton's version, which appears in Haas' edition. The words "invisibly," "slowly," "tread" work for me better than Bly's ""no one sees me," "for a long, long time," "thump." I assume Haas liked Fulton's translation best since he used it. And, like Haas, I would choose Bly's Nocturne translation over Fultons.

I will also say, I wish I knew Swedish. It must be so much better to read the poems exactly how Transtromer wrote them!