No. 158 - The Flight of Icarus

I began reading Last Night in Montreal by Emily St. John Mandel. I met her over the weekend at a summer reading series. She has published two novels. I have read neither. She was a delight to meet. I am excited to read her works as both novels employ a flashback technique.

This morning the main character talked about why she comes into a particular coffee shop. From Last Night in Montreal:

"I like Greek mythology," she said. "I like that Matisse print over the bar. It's the reason why I come here, actually." She gestured at the opposite wall, and he twisted around to look. The Flight of Icarus, 1947: one of Matisse's final works, from the time when he'd subsided from paint into paper cutouts and was moving closer and closer to the end of the line, unable to walk, his body slipping away from him. Icarus is a black silhouette falling through blue, his arms still outstretched with the memory of wings, bright starbursts exploding yellow around him in the deep blue air. He's wingless, and already close above the surface of the water; Matisse would be dead in seven years. Icarus, plummeting fast into the Aegean Sea, and there's a red spot on him, a symbol, to mark the last few heartbeats held in his chest.

I also learned that Icarus is a character in Greek mythology. He is the son of Daedalus and is commonly known for his attempt to escape Crete by flight, which ended in a fall to his death.