“Let’s blow their little minds” (Great Work quote)
Michael Chabon is fantastic. He wrote The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier & Clay. He wrote The Yiddish Policemen’s Union. Both extraordinary novels.
And now I’m reading his first book of non-fiction, Maps and Legends – a book (so far at least) of literary and cultural reference.
Here’s the paragraph that made me laugh out loud with delight, because this is EXACTLY what blows my mind. Gabon is describing what his goal would be in creating a new generation of comic books for children.
Let’s blow their little minds. A mind is not blown, in spite of whatever Hollywood seems to teach, merely by action sequences, things exploding, thrilling planetscapes, wild bursts of speed. Those are all good things; but a mind is blown when something you always feared but knew to be impossible turns out to be true; when the world turns out to be far vaster, far more marvelous or malevolent than you ever dreamed; when you get proof that everything is connected to everything else, that everything you know is wrong, that you are both the center of the universe and a tiny speck sailing off its nethermost edge.
I wish I’d written that.
What blows your mind?
- “The one predominant duty is to…” (Great Work quote)
- “We must believe that we are gifted for something, and…” (Great Work quote)
- “I want to stay as close to the edge as I can…” (Great Work quote)
- “timidity will do a thousand times more damage…” (Great Work quote)
- “For fast-acting relief try slowing down” (Great Work quote)
You do! Your new book does. And remembering this is all a game, that I am a speck and connected to everything. Both of those ideas, held together, truly free me.