Arnaav

I read this book as a child while recovering from surgery. I kept slipping in and out of consciousness and listened to Linkin Park's Minutes to Midnight throughout. The loop of the music combined with immediately reading again whenever I opened my eyes gave me the most continuous, intense, and maddeningly intricate dreams I have ever had. It's been many years since. I remember absolutely none of the plot. All I remember is the cover, the rhythm, the white of the hospital walls giving way to a furious cascade of green. Sometimes, when I listen to songs from that album, I remember flashes of scenes I'd conjured while lying in that chemical-scented bed. This book taught me what books can do when we experience them in ways other than sanity.