Two Men

There is a reason why literary fiction tends to touch love gingerly, if at all. It's difficult to be original, thoughtful and truthful about the said segment of human condition. In the past week however, there have been two  instances,

• Robert Peston's rendition of the British stiff upper lip when he selected his late wife Sian Busby's 'The Cruel Mother' in Radio 4's A Good Read. Mocking one's own vulnerability and being embarrassed about bringing personal suffering to a conversation and yet being honest about it is very moving.
• Marty Ginsburg's letter to his wife Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg that was reproduced in The New Yorker's profile of her,