This ride, unlike most of the things that happened to him, was something
he’d rather have than not have. He’d got something he wanted, and
whatever the cost in future embarrassment he was ready to meet it. He
reflected that the Arab proverb urging this kind of policy was
incomplete: to ‘take what you want and pay for it’ it should add ‘which
is better than being forced to take what you don’t want and paying for
that’.
The other day my sister asked me why I liked the book so much and I replied that it was on account of its cynicism, later enhanced by the fact that it was one of the first books I've read in the English original. A few weeks later another important reason occurred to me, however: Jim, like me, finds mere coping with life so demanding (in particular as regards social intercourse), that he has no energy left for ambition. This theme, without being expressly stated, runs throught he whole story. Whenever he achieves something, it's usually largely by simple good luck.
It's amazing how distractions one wouldn't have noticed in one's early days become absolutely shattering when one … grows older.
I've known - and loved - the novel since adolescence, and read it several times since then. It's interesting how the older I am, the more compassionate I feel for Professor Welch, because the more he reminds me of myself. Including the growing slowness in thinking, in reacting.
(originally posted probably on WordPress)
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