
Was reading
FLAUBERT'S PARROT by Julian Barnes and becoming pretty certain there would not be an
owl in it. I mean, on page 46 there is a list of dozens of different kinds of animals, but no owls. And I was like, "Oh, well, if there were to be an owl in this book that was the spot for it."
As much as I complain about
my sick compulsion to list every book I read that has an owl in it (which is every book), I felt kind of let down. Just a few pages later, though, from a summary of a Flaubert story: "Flashes of light in the forest... prove to be the eyes of watching beasts: wild cats, squirrels, owls,
parrots and
monkeys." Tell me, what did I feel? Here's a picture of an owl
Megan Abbott just sent me, coincidentally. "It's a purse!" Megan exclaims.