miscellaneous debris

(from ARC)What a gorgeous little book! The title keeps popping up in myhead - I can't recall the last time I read a novel that was so aptlytitled. It's a meditation on what it means to be human and the small acts that can change the trajectory of a life. The sparse, poetic images are like little nuggets of Zen. I don't think I've ever read a more inspiring description of someone learning to read than the one in this book. I fought the urge to highlight passages because I know I would end up highlighting most of the book (well, that and the fact that I never write in books). I kept going back to lines and saying to myself, "Wow, I wish I'd thought to say it that way."