The first time I read Cold Comfort Farm by Stella Gibbons I liked it well enough, but it took me a while to get its tone. On second reading, I find it much more enjoyable and excellently satirical.
Sadly other commitments have kept me from the last meet-up, where the group discussed Fup by Jim Dodge. Now that is a strange book. If I tried to explain what it's about, you'd only be left with the strangest impression. To be fair it's a very strange book, but utterly charming.
Now, I'm given to understand that our group's 'Non-Reader' has been gently, but firmly advised that she might get more from the group if she actually made some attempt to locate and read at least part of the occasional book.
Still as the proverb goes, when the gods seek to punish us they grant us our wishes. Accordingly two and a half hours after the start time, at a point when we've all moved on from the discussion of the book and onto other matters (putting the world to rights, that kind of thing), she strolls in and promptly monopolises the discussions back onto the book, which she has a) located (hurrah) and b) read the first 100 pages of (double hurrah).
B and I are seated such that we can disengage quite easily and whilst it might not have been the nicest act in the world, for self-preservation reasons we break into a private conversation. Trying to be a nice person, I try to open up a general conversation with the full group, but typically enough Non-Reader isn't interested if it doesn't place her in the sole limelight and starts fiddling with her phone to start showing us more photos of 'something to do with her'. So I give up, back to talking with just B and trying (upon request) to rescue D.
Whilst I say for we do this for 'self-preservation', when you think about it, it probably also helps preserve her ultimately.
But hey, who am I kidding? She pisses me off and I don't act well as a result.
And at the end of the day, maybe that's the thing I hold against her most, that I don't like what she brings out in me. And that's really more my responsibility than hers isn't it?
1 comment:
no, it's a good theory, but it doesn't work for me. I don't dislike my lodger because she brings out my short tempered, insensitive, angry corss, intolerant side. Those parts of me are out without her help. I dislike her because her behaviour is ust so bloody wierd and unreasonable and annoying. end of.
but then again, I like you, cos you bring out my nice side (mostly)!
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