Post by Stormrider on Jul 26, 2023 10:42:40 GMT -6
I just read Tree and Leaf. It is definitely a very odd story.
So the guy (Niggle) is obsessed with painting a leaf in great detail which leads to him expanding his painting further out to the branch, the tree, the grass, the meadow, a stream, a town, mountains, etc. He neglects other duties that seem to be mandated by the law, such as helping his neighbor(s). which he does half heartedly and then neglectfully because helping is a realy bother and interruption of his painting.
The he is forced to stop painting and get incarcerated somewhere having to do all kinds of labor as punishment. He gets sick and is laying in bed and hears two voices discussing him. One wants to punish him and the other wants to let him go on with his life. Niggle ends up in a wonderful country with the neighbor he kinda sorta ignored but helped half-heartedly and they become really good friends. Niggle started doing all the work related things and the neighbor started wandering around and just looking at stuff. It ends up that they are inside Noggle's painting. Some shepherd comes to get Niggle and take him up into the mountains. (was this his death?)
Then the scene switches toa Councillor and a Schoolmaster (are they from his town?--it sounds like it) They are discussing Niggle's uselessness and that painting isn't worth anything and not worth preserving. They say that Niggle never finished anything but his canvases were put to good use. The schoolmaster found a scrap corner of Niggle's painting witha mountain peak and spray of leaves and preserved it but it crumbled down to one beautiful leaf. This was framed and given to the town museum and named "Leaf: by Niggle". But down. the museum burned down.
Then back to the first and second voices who are sending more people to Niggle's painting land.
I am very confused by this story.
So the guy (Niggle) is obsessed with painting a leaf in great detail which leads to him expanding his painting further out to the branch, the tree, the grass, the meadow, a stream, a town, mountains, etc. He neglects other duties that seem to be mandated by the law, such as helping his neighbor(s). which he does half heartedly and then neglectfully because helping is a realy bother and interruption of his painting.
The he is forced to stop painting and get incarcerated somewhere having to do all kinds of labor as punishment. He gets sick and is laying in bed and hears two voices discussing him. One wants to punish him and the other wants to let him go on with his life. Niggle ends up in a wonderful country with the neighbor he kinda sorta ignored but helped half-heartedly and they become really good friends. Niggle started doing all the work related things and the neighbor started wandering around and just looking at stuff. It ends up that they are inside Noggle's painting. Some shepherd comes to get Niggle and take him up into the mountains. (was this his death?)
Then the scene switches toa Councillor and a Schoolmaster (are they from his town?--it sounds like it) They are discussing Niggle's uselessness and that painting isn't worth anything and not worth preserving. They say that Niggle never finished anything but his canvases were put to good use. The schoolmaster found a scrap corner of Niggle's painting witha mountain peak and spray of leaves and preserved it but it crumbled down to one beautiful leaf. This was framed and given to the town museum and named "Leaf: by Niggle". But down. the museum burned down.
Then back to the first and second voices who are sending more people to Niggle's painting land.
I am very confused by this story.