Believing in the Nix

THE NIX by Nathan Hill (Picador Books, 2016)

According to the cliché,  everybody has at least one book in them. Nathan Hill has now written his in the form of this bold and hugely entertaining debut novel.

The American author says that his previous attempts at fiction followed formulas in vain attempts to win a lucrative book deal.

After a series of rejections he decided to cut his losses and simply write a book to please himself. In doing so, he had no idea whether or not it would be published.

It took him ten years to write, a slow but enjoyable process that he equated to tending to his own garden. The result is a triumph.

MAKING TIME FOR OCCUPY

On the face of it journalists for Time magazine are unlikely bedfellows with the Occupy Wall Street (OWS) movement. After all, isn’t one of the beefs of the protesters that the media are part of the problem rather than the cure.

There were widespread and credible accusations of the original demonstrations in New York being ignored by mainstream outlets.

Even when Occupy events are reported, a typical refrain is that those taking part are the usual band of student hotheads and anarcho-punks who are biting the hands that feed them; a kind of knee-jerk reactionary line that gives a lie to the notion of a free press and impartial journalism.

BEING INDIGNANT IS NOT ENOUGH

Anger, like love, is an energy but for a truly revolutionary movement to succeed there is also a need for focus and discipline.

The fact that the Occupy Wall Street movement is intent on maintaining a non-violent protest is a positive thing but, as the initiative for change takes on a more global perspective with the so-called indignants or ‘indignanti’ it is hard to see this fragile peace being maintained for long.

The violence on the streets of Rome today raise memories of the Anti-Globalization protest in Genoa ten years ago which resulted in the  death of Carlo Giuliani.

OCCUPY WALL STREET: “A physical embodiment of hope”

I love these words by Chris Hedges from his short article The Best Among Us:

“Those on the streets around Wall Street are the physical embodiment of hope. They know that hope has a cost, that it is not easy or comfortable, that it requires self-sacrifice and discomfort and finally faith. They sleep on concrete every night. Their clothes are soiled. They have eaten more bagels and peanut butter than they ever thought possible. They have tasted fear, been beaten, gone to jail, been blinded by pepper spray, cried, hugged each other, laughed, sung, talked too long in general assemblies, seen their chants drift upward to the office towers above them, wondered if it is worth it, if anyone cares, if they will win. But as long as they remain steadfast they point the way out of the corporate labyrinth. This is what it means to be alive. They are the best among us.

Watch and hear the voices of the new beautiful people in this inspiring video on Vimeo:

The revolution continues here:
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