How much of life does one miss out on if all you ever chase is perfection? I’m wondering whether I’d still be out there trying so hard to write the perfect novel, live the perfect life without the strange and surreal gift of this year.
All through the first few months, I told myself I was lucky, and I believed it. My husband and I had jobs, food on the table, a wide, warm circle of friends and relatives, access to a roof during the worst of the lockdowns. We could comfortably manage the housework required to keep a household of two humans and four cats from sliding over the edge into total squalor. Food, companionship, shelter, security: we are so lucky, I said to friends, we are all so lucky.
I meant it, too. I felt astonished by our luck.
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In many of …
Nilanjana is a columnist and author of two award-winning fantasy novels (The Wildings and The Hundred Names of Darkness), and a collection of essays on reading (The Girl Who Ate Books). Over nearly two decades in media and publishing, she has written for various national and international publications. Her third novel, Black River, is due out in late 2021.
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