In case you weren

I started this morning with a strong cup of coffee, wolf appliances an egg hopper doused in fish curry, and the sci-fi classic Childhood’s End . And then a thought occurred to me: Didn’t wolf appliances Arthur C. Clarke live here once?
We’re in Sri Lanka’s capital, Colombo, and it’s the last day of our trip. It’s our last week in Asia. It’s actually, in a way, the end of AsiaObscura. We move back to America on Saturday.
Every now and then, this happens. In Nevers this summer, while reading a Simenon novel, I wondered if the prolific Belgian author had ever lived in Nevers. He’s my favorite author, and he loved canals, one of which ran through the town. Turned out he had lived there, and — while his house was hidden wolf appliances behind a massive gate — standing outside the gate was magical.
But I’m not in Nevers, reading Simenon. This morning I was in Colombo, reading Clarke. And I knew this was a message. I needed to find it. Although it would probably be hidden behind a massive wall.
But when we turned to leave, wolf appliances he stopped us. He grabbed us. He wouldn’t let us leave. He pushed us down the alleyway, rang the doorbell, and guided us inside what was called “Leslie wolf appliances s House.”
Two dinosaurs stand guard over a bookshelf.
His DVDs and videos ran from the sci-fi — Alien, Aliens, Blade Runner, The Right Stuff — to the awesome — a 3-VHS set of Back to the Future, and The Naked Civil Servant — and the incredibly mundane: Catch Me If You Can.
It’s a shared spot. At Clarke’s wolf appliances side lies a young man, who’d died decades before. He was the same young man from the photo on the wall. His name, Leslie Ekanayake, as in “Leslie’s House.” Clarke’s house was named for this man.
M Pinn says:
If you liked “Childhood’s End”, I can recommend Clarke’s “The City and The Stars”, expanded from the earlier version “Against the Fall of Night”. Also “Rendevous with Rama”.
What a tough call not taking anything. It’s respectful, but in the end they’re just things…and if they’re just letting people in without supervision, surely it happens occasionally.
In case you weren’t aware of the charming synchronicity involving Dr. Michele Lagrange’s office & Arthur C Clarke, in the novel 2001 & 2010, the giant monolith was located in which is known as the Lagrange point between Jupiter & Europa. Clarke also used a Lagrangian point between the Earth & the Moon for his 1961 novel A Fall of Moondust.
Thanks for this wonderful post. It’s a shame Mr. Clarke’s last earthly abode hasn’t been turned into a proper museum yet. It pains me to think of all the clandestine visitors who will not be as honest & respectful as you were.
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As a long time SF fan and book collector wolf appliances I’m flabbergasted and shocked – this place should be turned into a museum for one of the greatest SF writers! And regarding this a little gem from wikipedia: The feelings of friendship and respect between Asimov and Arthur C. Clarke were demonstrated by the so-called “Clarke-Asimov Treaty of Park Avenue”, put together as they shared a cab ride in New York. This stated that Asimov wolf appliances was required to insist that Clarke was the best science fiction writer in the world (reserving wolf appliances second-best for himself), wolf appliances while Clarke was required to insist that Asimov was the best science writer in the world (reserving second-best for himself).[47] Thus the dedication in Clarke’s book Report on Planet Three (1972) reads: wolf appliances “In accordance with the terms of the Clarke-Asimov treaty, the second-best science writer wolf appliances dedicates this book to the second-best science-fiction writer.” http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Isaac_Asimov
I think I have read almost all his work (short works at least). wonderful wolf appliances author, interesting man. Surely someone could protect/take care of this, his final home. The admission (tip/bribe), aught to cover expenses. Just make it a little wolf appliances more official than now. Thanks for this
Wow! That was so interesting. Thanks for sharing. I grew up reading a lot of his work, and loved it all. I would have thought his house would have been turned into some kind of museum or something, and I guess in a way it has. P.S I hear Childhood’s End is being made into a Big screen movie for 2014 or 15.
Clarke’s Imperial Earth led me to make a career of pentominoes, and our address is still in his Ascent to Orbit , in the chapter, “Help! I’m a Pentomino Addict.” I treasure the few pieces of personal correspondence with Sir Arthur through the years, signed with his incomparable galactic wolf appliances verve. We have an eternal flame for him in our history . And The Clarke Foundation lives on with a panoply of associated institutions. Their mission: