As usual, Paarfi of Roundwood, hits the nail upon the head, or, rather, we should more accurately say that he strikes repeatedly around the spot where the nail’s head is held, coming now nearer, now further to striking his thumb and losing his train of thought altogether, or, to be more precise, losing the reader’s patience, before finally, with much labor and, it must be admitted and very nearly admired, love, he finally holds up the completed spice rack. That the simple shelf also includes, attached to it, a whole kitchen or, indeed, a whole housing development is the price we pay for, what is without doubt, a unique and uniquely satisfying entertainment, and, moreover, one which we have read headlong and without pause all the way to the end knowing full well that the two additional volumes that complete this small piece of Paarfi’s self-assigned historical task are not available to us in this place. Bah.
" It has long been known by those who take up the pen and write for a populace greedy for distraction, that among the most difficult tasks of the writer are those caused by circumstances in which the characters whom the reader has been following must go from one place to another. The author must somehow account for the journey, and to merely say, "They traveled; they arrived," often leaves the reader with the feeling that something important has been missed; yet to actually describe the passage of one day after another, each filled with nothing more than the routine of the traveler, is, more often than not, to invite ennui; that is, in a word, to bore the reader.[ … elision of a whole page of text … ]
For this reason, then, it has been our approach, which has met with a certain success, to direct the attention of the reader toward events which have caused significant changes in the personality, or, at any rate, the disposition of those whose actions have attracted our interest; that is, if the struggles of the journey itself, or the conversation among the travelers, or certain incidents have had a profound or lasting effect, that is where we will ask the reader to lend his attention, so that we, in turn, may repay him by providing a deeper understanding of those characters, and with whatever degree of entertainment is naturally afforded by the incidents we are called upon to reveal. "
I nearly think this describes something I am trying, with what meager powers afforded me, to accomplish.
. . .
The proximate cause of the above is that I’ve finished the fourth of the eight books I brought on this trip - and I still have three weeks to go. Fortunately, Kathmandu is noted for its bookshops.
Kathmandu's used book shops are famous for their eclectic selection provided by Western travelers. In essence they're like a perennially rotating library; you can sell books back for 50% of the original price and buy more. Shelves are stocked with a genuine cross-section of travelers reading. Generally quantity predominates over quality; thick historical novels are popular buys for long treks.Posted by Martial