Momo and The Men in Grey

"What is this life if full of care, we have no time to stand and to stare... A poor life this if, full of care, we have no time to stand and stare." -  from William Henry Davies Poem

Story Line:

The outstanding book was referred to me by Shinji Hioki and Hamid Azimi. The source of the following summary is Wikipedia:

Momo is a fantasy novel by Michael Ende, published in 1973. It is about the concept of time and how it is used by humans in modern society.

In the ruins of an amphitheater just outside an unnamed Italian city lives Momo, a little girl of mysterious origin. She is remarkable in the neighborhood because she has the extraordinary ability to listen — really listen. By simply being with people and listening to them, she can help them find answers to their problems, make up with each other, and think of fun games.

This pleasant atmosphere is spoiled by the arrival of the Men in Grey. These strange individuals represent the Timesavings Bank and promote the idea of time saving among the population, time which can be deposited to the Bank and returned to the client later with interest. They then make people forget all about them, but not about the resolution to save as much time as possible "for later use".

Gradually, the sinister influence of the Men in Grey affects the whole city: life becomes sterile, devoid of all things considered time-wasting, like social activities, recreation, art, imagination, or even sleeping. Buildings and clothing are made exactly the same for everyone and the rhythms of life become hectic. In reality, the more time people save, the less they have.

The time they save is actually lost to them; instead, it is consumed by the Men in Grey in the form of cigars, made from the dried petals of the hour-lilies that represent time. Without these cigars the Men in Grey cannot exist. Momo, however, is a wrench in the plans of the Timesaving Bank thanks to her special personality. The Men in Grey try various plans to take care of her, therefore derailing her from stopping their scheme, but they all fail.

When even her closest friends fall under the influence of the Men in Grey in one way or another, Momo finds her way up to an elevated realm of a master time keeper who contrives to stop time long enough for Momo to sabotage a meeting of the grey men long enough to close their time vault when they need it, causing them to all disappear in their own cigar smoke, after which she can open the vault and release everyone's time which returns as a river of flower petals.

Reflection: Just like the stories of Jonathan Livingston Seagull, the little prince and The Alchemist, Momo is the book for all ages; full of fun but presents real thought provoking, deep meaning OBT ideas relevant to daily work and personal life.

Next Week: Three Idiots

Comments

[RK Khanna]

With the promises with which the 21st century began " Are we better off today than we were 10 years ago?" Do we have more financial security, employment, available time for family and leisure.

[r]

Men in Grey are financial advisers and bankers of last two decades. But one basic human weakness, GREED, got people suckered into it.
"Who wants to be the next millionaire?"

[micro CEO]

Without having read this book, I can imagine like the hardest challenge for Momo must have been to convince herself not to give up (though everyone else had) and to continue the struggle against her adversaries.

The storyline does remind me of a story I once heard in summer camp: The story of "warm fuzzies" and "cold pricklies".
http://www.emotional-literacy.com/fuzzy.htm