Life, love and literature

I was browsing last night looking for a movie. I found one called ITHACA with Meg Ryan and Tom Hanks. I have always liked their chemistry on the big screen so thought I would try it. Shortly into the movie, I recognized the plot as being from William Saroyan’s classic novel THE HUMAN COMEDY. I googled it and discovered it was indeed based on that novel. I have no idea why the movie makers decided to use a new title, but I am not sorry that I continued watching it. The novel has often been overlooked apparently by the literary world, or perhaps forgotten. The movie made me want to reread the book, so Amazon will be sending me a copy! My personal paperback died of old age. The pages just fell  apart. The novel is set during WWII and centers on a young boy whose older brother goes to war shortly after their father dies. Homer feels the need to care for his mom and siblings, so he takes a job as a telegram delivery boy. He is 14 years old and life has hit him hard; it is a wonderful coming of age story that is compelling to the reader! He had to deliver the first of many telegrams that told residents their loved ones had been killed in the war. He ultimately has to deliver the same news about his brother to his mother. It is a story told simply but is powerful in showing the emotional toll that war takes on a family as well as a community and a country! I found myself living what it had to be like in that poignant time in the world. Sam Shepherd is the old telegrapher who recognizes the strength in that young boy as Homer deals with the realities of his current life. The telegrapher tells Homer that he didnt know how it happened, but he had become a man. Part of the reason I think the book resonated so well with me is that my own dad had to become the breadwinner for his mom and 6 siblings during The Great Depression after his father died young. My dad was 16. His mother’s family had told her she needed to put her children in an orphanage, but she refused. They survived but it was a struggle! Saroyan’s title was a little confusing years ago because I wasn’t aware of the word comedy having several meanings. I should have been; Dante used the term Comedy in his famous trilogy about the human condition; none of it was what I would call funny! Saroyan was using it to describe life in all its glory and sadness! The human spirit will continue to rise above the tragedies that just living can bring! It reminds me a little of what Anne Frank said in her diary (- talk about coming of age in a world that was upside down ! )She said she believed that people were still good at heart. Saroyan is excellent at understanding human nature; I think he and another William might have had some discussions about the comedy of being human ! (Shakespeare ) Give it a tr ; I think you will like it and find yourself or someone you love!