Middle Chapters, 21-46

[Rachel-K]

Please use this thread for general discussion of the middle chapters of the novel, from 21 through 46.

[Popper19]

I just finished chapter 46. I really want to dive right in and finish the book, but I popped on the board to see if anyone had commented on the middle chapters yet.

Danielle - I keep flip-flopping between feeling really sorry for Danielle and feeling disgusted with her for getting into a relationship with Murray. I can't wait to see what happens.

Anabel - So far I think I like Anabel the best. She seems to have the most meaningful job and seems to be the most moral person in the book thus far. I'd like to know more about her. I hope we get some sort of conclusion that brings her into it.

Murray - Hate him. I just do - he repulses me.

Julius - Not to fond of him either. He's very immature, etc. However, I do want to see what happens with him and David.

David - I'm not sure how I feel about him at all. I guess I lump him in the same category as I do Anabel.

Marina - I like her more now that she's with Ludovic, although it seems like he's controlling her every thought. I like that she stood up to her dad, but I'm not sure if she really did or if she's being "brainwashed" by her fiance.

Seely - I really want to know how this concludes. Is he a horrible person who became engaged to Marina just to fulfill his agenda or to somehow get to Murray? Is he really in love with her?

Bootie - What is going to happen to him now? He's definitely somewhat delusional, but I admire is "courage" in writing the expose. The fact that he's in love with Marina pushes him much more toward the squirmish category. I'm very interested to see what will become of him.

What does everyone else think about these characters?

[Fozzie]

I was struck by how lonely everyone is.

Bootie: “He would rather be alone and unwanted than ordinary. He thought he would. But he hadn’t imagined a loneliness like this. He hadn’t known it could exist , nor that it would make him so sad and angry.” (pg. 286)

Julius: “But just then, it felt that he would never get them back: he’d made his bargain, had chosen David, and now that’s all there was. No career. No novel, that was for sure. No friends. Just David, who didn’t understand.” (pg. 292)

Marina: “All of my life people have been jealous of me for one thing or another, and I’m tired of pretending that I don’t notice, and I’m tired of feeling guilty about it. And the whole point abut Danielle was that I never had to pretend before. I don’t want to be pretending.” (pg. 255)

Murray: “or whether the tremor was born of genuine apprehension. This latter would surprise only because this ritual --- the odd drink, the odd fling, the odd prolonged liaison --- was as much a part of him as Annabel, or Marina, or --- in an analogy that struck him as more apt --- as the Pope had been.” (pg. 189)

I find it sad.

As Murray says on page 344, “Do you think we’d any of us get anywhere without pretense? Without pretensions, too?”

[Rachel-K]

Laura,

These are wonderfully sad passages you've chosen for each of the characters! And it makes me think of how vulnerable the characters are to our judgment--they are very naked to us, and thank goodness we don't walk around so exposed to others in our daily lives!

How would you answer Murray's question?

[Peppermill]

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rkubie wrote:
Laura,

These are wonderfully sad passages you've chosen for each of the characters! And it makes me think of how vulnerable the characters are to our judgment--they are very naked to us, and thank goodness we don't walk around so exposed to others in our daily lives!

How would you answer Murray's question?

---

I'd answer: "No. But there are also a lot of wonderful places that you can't get WITH pretense or pretension, either."

[Fozzie]

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rkubie wrote:
How would you answer Murray's question?

---

No, but pretensions should not rule our lives and overshadow our true selves.

[IBIS]

As Murray says on page 344, “Do you think we’d any of us get anywhere without pretense? Without pretensions, too?”

In THE KING AND I, the governess teaches the children a great song,

"I whistle a happy tune...
and suddenly I find,
the happiness in the tune
convinces me that I'm
not afraid."

Imagination is a wonderful thing... There are many situations where I would not be able to cope without a bit of pretense... Brutal reality can be very harsh; and can destroy many of us who need that little emotional boost, that buffer of pretense that ... I am not that afraid. That I am not so helpless. That things cannot possibly be so bad.