Dear Great Book Guru, My favorite author is Barbara Pym and she is known among some readers as the Jerry Seinfeld of the literary world - she writes about nothing! Recently I read about a new novel that deals with just that: nothing really.  Have you heard of it? Into Nothing

Dear Into Nothing, Yes, I recently read THE ANTHROPOLOGISTS by Aysegul Savas and immediately thought of Pym. This is the story of the daily routines of Asya and Manu, a couple from an unknown country and set in yet another unknown country as they search for an apartment.  Each apartment offers a different way of life - depending on views, number of rooms, type of kitchen, location…  the multitude of small details that come together to make up a life. They take great pleasure in imagining each of the different scenarios the various apartments suggest. As they search, life goes on as parents and grandparents age, friendships are formed and broken, meals are described, consumed and forgotten.  Asya is a videographer, and she is determined to record a nearby park with its seasonal transitions, again emphasizing the delicate beauty of subtle change. The couple form a friendship with an elderly neighbor, and we observe the myriad of change that comes with age.  Throughout, we are party to Asya and Manu’s lives where nothing dramatic occurs, but their lives are recognized as being made up of fragmented beauty. The reader is inevitably made to think about and cherish those many barely remembered moments that indeed make up a life.  Highly recommended!