As always, Tom Perrotta displays an uncanny ability to create full-bodied characters that feel less like characters in a book and more like vivid reflections of people that we all know.

There’s honest talking high school teacher and single mum Ruth Ramsay who unwittingly finds herself in battle with the local Church, and then there is Tim mason, former wild boy who has relinquished his former life and converted to Christianity. Facing their own personal crises of faith, Ruth and Tim are pulled into conflict and yet find themselves almost irresistibly drawn together.

Aside from his richly drawn characters, Perrotta creates for them a highly detailed world where we can really see, hear and feel what our characters experience. His clever use of pop culture references grounds the story in time and place, and constructs an entirely believable reality.

With deft hand and strongly satirical eye, Perrotta handles his subject matter with precision, and even when dealing with subjects as divisive as religion and sex, he manages to air all perspectives with supremely delicate touch.

So as you can tell I’ve been off wandering through the wilderness again (…well unfortunately not literally…but you get the idea…). Thanks so much for continuing to visit me here and leaving your kind words…you are much appreciated!

Anyway what feels like it must now be about a century ago, the wonderful ‘The Elementary‘ tagged me and I have sadly taken my time in responding…apologies!! While normally I struggle with coming up with something for tags, this one was too intriguing to resist. Basically the idea is to write a six word memoir. Here is mine:

Kneeling on ground, she turns away.

Aside from the two victims I’ve tagged below, here are the rules if you choose to play as well (be sure to let me know if you do, as I’d love to check out what you come up with):

1. Write your own six word memoir.
2. Post it on your blog and include a visual illustration if you’d like.
3. Link to the person who tagged you in your post.
4. Tag five more blogs with links.
5. And don’t forget to leave a comment on the tagged blogs with an invitation to play!

I thought I would invite two wonderful bloggers to have a go at this one - Lee (from Quit Your Day Job)…and who also just happens to be my husband, and the ever delightful John (from Matterings).

In the movie of the same name, Jerry Maguire becomes increasingly disillusioned with the changing business focus of his employer, Sports Management International. Once being a sports agent was all about the heart, it was important to care for your client and ensure that regardless of the business deals being signed and sealed, that fans were always respected. Jerry eventually comes to realise that the heart has been lost from the business, and the driving force behind the agency has become the head, or more specifically, the dollar value. Money had overtaken the pure love of sport, and personal consideration for the players and fans had been lost.

In response to this evolving business model, Jerry takes it upon himself to get his thoughts down on paper. The result is a ‘mission statement’ entitled, ‘The Things We Think and Do Not Say‘. This is a wonderful, wonderful piece of writing that was actually penned by the film’s director (and writer), Cameron Crowe. You can find a copy of the full text here. Crowe writes eloquently, and his words drip with passion and hope for the future. He speaks with honesty and inspires in so many ways:

‘I have broken even with my life. I have a nice home, a nice car, a fiancee who makes my heart race. But I have not taken that step, or risk, that makes the air I have breathed for 35 years worthwhile. I once had a yellow couch. I got rid of it because it was neutral. My life is now like that yellow couch…

I have never been a writer, but I can see how this great lost art will never truly die. Putting words to paper is a sacred thing. It’s more than a phone conversation, it is a document. It is something you are putting on paper. The relationship between a phone call and a letter is the difference between a magazine and a phone book. One you leave on a plane, the other you save…

We cannot sleepwalk. We cannot just survive, anything goes. We can take control of our lives, we can quit sleepwalking, we can say - right now, these are our lives, it is time to start living it. It is time to not second guess, to move forward, to make mistakes if we have to, but to do it with a greater good in mind…‘

In a burst of late night / early morning inspiration, Jerry distributes copies of his mission statement throughout his office. Unfortunately for him, the honest thoughts and feelings he documented are not embraced by the business, given that he is virtually advocating a change in emphasis from more clients (and more money) to fewer clients (and more personal attention). In the end though, things work out for Jerry in a completely unexpected and deeply fulfilling way. Anyway I digress…(there is a link here somewhere).

After a long time, I finally purchased and read ‘The Heart is a Lonely Hunter’ by Carson McCullers. This is an incredible book that moves the reader at almost languorous pace through the experiences of several characters who are all touched in some way by John Singer, a deaf-mute. There is fourteen-year-old Mick Kelly who hears music in her heart and dreams of an amazingly big life, cafe owner Biff Brannon who observes his customers with quiet reflection, hard working doctor Benedict Copeland who struggles with his family situation, the drunken outcast Jake Blount who rages against the world, and the lazy Spiros Antonapoulos who is Singer’s best friend. Each character in their own way feels out of place in the world and longs for a way or a person who will help them feel less alone.

In John Singer each individual feels that they have finally found someone that really listens and understands them for who they really are. For them it doesn’t matter that he can’t speak to them directly, with Singer a conversation goes far beyond the need to talk. Without being aware of their dependency on him, Singer becomes critical to the existence of those around him. When people speak to him they say the things ‘they think and do not (normally) say’. With Singer, people share their feelings, thoughts and secrets in complete openness and honesty. Even those things that cannot normally be admitted to one’s self, suddenly with Singer, it seems right to divulge them.

‘Singer was bewildered. Always each of them had so much to say. Yet now that they were together they were silent. When they came in he had expected an outburst of some kind. In a vague way he had expected this to be the end of something. But in the room there was only a feeling of strain. His hands worked nervously as though they were pulling things unseen from the air and binding them together.’

But what of Singer? The person chosen to be the confidant of so many. Singer desperately misses the friendship of Antonapoulos who has been hospitalised in another town. He is bewildered by the attention he receives from the people around him and perhaps feels more starkly confronted by his loneliness when he is with them.

And so through ‘The Heart is a Lonely Hunter’, Carson McCullers shares a commonality with Jerry Maguire by exploring the things that more often than not go unsaid. As with much in life, everything comes down to communication, and perhaps more importantly it is the things that are left unsaid that leave the most indelible mark on the heart.

Music can be many things to many people, and like all forms of art it can be appreciated on many different levels. Often behind the appeal of a pleasing tune or an interesting melody, something more lasting can be revealed. Given my interest in exploring the positive and negative interactions which can occur between humans and animals, I was pleased to recently discover two fantastic ’songs with conscience’.

While both songs (and their respective artists) are very different in style, they each offer listeners much to reflect on from an animal rather than a human perspective. Aside from the questions raised by their lyrics, these songs are also supported by some wonderful visuals in their accompanying videos.

The first song is by The Tongue (from their album Shock & Awe) and is called ‘Animal Crackers‘ (featuring Dudley Perkins and Georgia Anne Muldrow). This hip-hop flavoured track is seriously catchy and has a real happy pop vibe while keeping things pretty rough and raw. In short, the song addresses the impacts that humans have on animal life, and suggests some of the ways that animals may feel about and react to their treatment.

‘In the darkness of the night, we see you, we see how you do
How you bring death (death), love to see life take it’s last breath (breath)
So just confess, you humans are such a mess (such a mess)
You need to give it a rest, your car’s smoke is starting to eat up at my chest
Not to mention how it’s treating all the rest, of life
Oh how we have to fight to live our life!‘

The second song is by Royksopp (from their album Melody A.M.) and is called ‘Poor Leno‘. This song, which is part electronica and part escapist house, builds a dreamy sound while highlighting all that is disturbing about animals kept in captivity. The song beautifully and tragically documents the impacts of removing an animal from its natural habitat simply for the entertainment of humans. Looking at animals behind bars or through the glass into a ’simulated environment’ will never feel quite the same again after watching this video.

‘Poor Leno
Where you’ll be, I’ll go
Where you’ll be, I’ll know
Where you’ll be, I’ll find you‘

With exposed wooden floor, subtle lighting and patiently waiting instruments, the stage was quiet and still, like a stagnant body of water which lies absent of life and devoid of life-giving oxygen. And then a whisper of air builds and quickly rises into a breeze which flows across the surface of water, stirring it into action and unleashing a chaotic clashing of waves which travel from one side to the other. In such a way the stage wakes to life in hushed reverie as PJ Harvey enters the concert hall. Suddenly the heart and soul of the stage unites in perfect harmony with her presence. The performer has arrived.

She does not rush, she is calm and at peace as she wafts across the stage in a lyrically inscribed Edwardian dress. Similar though to our surface agitated body of water which stretches away to unknown depths, there is a slight feeling of tension below the surface which takes several songs to dissipate as Harvey relaxes into the performance.

Harvey is a surprisingly energetic and warm performer, and while she stands alone on stage she does not feel lonely. Surrounded by an array of instruments (piano, acoustic and bass guitar, zither, keyboards, harmonica and percussion), a sprinkling of fairy lights and tiny animal figurines she casts a spell of ethereal beauty and dreamy creative energy, yet at the same time exudes a commanding strength of spirit. Her only other occasional stage companion throughout the evening was long time collaborator Mick Harvey who accompanied her on piano.

While the purpose of her visit to Australia was to showcase work from her latest album ‘White Chalk’, Harvey would not have disappointed long term fans as she drew widely from her extensive back catalogue of music. Highlights from Harvey’s early nineties albums included emotionally raw and passionate performances of Rid of Me, Bring You My Love, Down By the Water and Send His Love to Me. Her intense stage demeanour is absorbing as she brings poetic drama to her musical stories infused with anger, love, loss and desperate longing.

It is no surprise though that some of the best songs of the evening featured from one of my all time favourite albums, the 2000 release ‘Stories from the City, Stories from the Sea’. Horses In My Dreams was delicately delivered, conjuring up an extraordinary sense of hopeful space and freedom. Big Exit was the perfect contrasting piece, a rough and raucous description of a dangerous and unstable future. From ‘Uh Huh Her’ the standout for me was The Desperate Kingdom of Love, a stark and sad tale of the personal journeys we make in the name of love.

Of course most of the evening was given over to material from White Chalk, and with this album PJ Harvey demonstrates her unwillingness to maintain the status quo artistically, she always looks to push herself further on to a new creative plain. This is especially clear with the incorporation of the piano into her repertoire - a new instrument for Harvey, and also her stripped back vocals which display a greater fragility and higher pitch than previous recordings. Title track White Chalk typifies the feel of the entire album which seems more grounded and natural than earlier work, exploring the organic connections which exist between people, places and the environment.

Grow, Grow, Grow raises questions of how love can be found and cared for, Silence offers a remembrance of the obliterating focus of love, When Under Ether travels to that unseen place where things are not as they seem, and The Mountain has us soaring above the world as we gaze down on the broken things that lay below. So much beauty radiated on this one evening in Brisbane that it is too difficult a task to separate the musical roses from the bountiful display on offer.

PJ Harvey is a rare talent who presents a dazzling range of styles and sounds. She is elegant and refined, yet unafraid to challenge musical categorisation and pre-conceived expectations of how a song should be arranged and the way it should make the listener feel. She is a true evolution in progress and we are fortunate indeed to be able to grow alongside her.