Friday 9 September 2016

Colors And Aromas

SM Stirling, Against The Tide Of Years (New York, 1999), Chapter Two, p. 25.

We have frequently appreciated list-descriptions on this blog. Here are some more. On Steamship Dock in Nantucket, there are:

dickering factors and dealers;
yelling storekeepers;
chanting sailors;
blanket-wearing Indians;
kilted Proto-Celtic warriors;
priestesses in ponchos;
an Olmec noble cloaked in turquoise, scarlet and purple hummingbird feathers;
a herd of smaller moas.

Odors:

moa guano;
drying fish;
boiling whale blubber;
raw leather;
horses and their dung;
sweat;
woodsmoke;
tarred rope;
wooden hulls;
the fresh sea breeze.

Cargoes:

salt from the Bahamas;
coffee;
raw asphalt;
sulfur;
quetzal feathers;
jaguar pelts;
chocolate beans;
raw cotton;
mahogany;
dyewoods. 

It sounds romantic although we are told that the reality is hot, sweaty and dangerous.

1 comment:

Sean M. Brooks said...

Kaor, Paul!

I have noticed these description lists which Stirling uses in his books. A very Andersonian touch--and one I think was deliberately inspired by Anderson's example.

Sean