Yesterday in the discussion of James Baldwin's depression-fest Another Country, the discussion leaders decided that they weren't going to read the text out themselves; everyone had to read, a paragraph at a time. And of course when it got to my turn we arrived at a paragraph with swearing in. It was only two words, which isn't much compared to the rest of the book, but still a 200% increase in swearing for me. Saying no didn't seem to be an option so I took a deep breath and read it, trying to think of the words just as sounds instead of thinking about what they actually meant.
It was very, very weird. I'm not sure I can explain properly how strange it felt to hear those words in my own voice. There was a physical reaction in my ears, almost like they were ringing. It was probably one of those horrible blushes that starts at your ears and works inwards.
Aha, I've got the comparison! It was like saying a word in a different language in the middle of an English sentence. "I'm not too keen on chocolate ice cream but I älskar vanilla." It was that jarring.
But at least I didn't have to read any of the sex scenes!
xXx
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