Obscenities

APPETITE by Julian Barnes

“On the other hand, he doesn’t want me to go straight to what he likes. I have to seem to stumble across it.”

As I often do, when helping authors with their own fiction works by means of gestalt real time reviewing. As this lady does — I think I stumble upon the fact she is his second wife — was he a dentist for whom she once worked? — now he is in a home for the incurable and the demented, although I am possibly stumbling badly myself now …she seems to make stabs at reading aloud phrases from fine cuisine recipe books and eliciting from him, in a Proustian vicarious taste sort of way, his stream of memories, some of them skew whiff, if not properly uploaded at all, and they are mingled with his obscene requests. aimed at her, sometimes forgetting who she is. Although he is proper and particular in himself, as evidenced by his slippers, however much he might or she might otherwise slip up. He remembers all the restaurants where particular recipes were eaten, or does he? He certainly correctly remembers the restaurant pianist who did not like playing on Sundays if not for the right reason, although I am myself uncertain about any of that. Please read aloud to me quotes from books I once reviewed and see how well I remember them. My cup overfloweth.

“Which was disappointing in a way, because you want connections to be there, don’t you?”

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The context of this review: https://dflewisreviews.wordpress.com/2022/01/18/the-lemon-table-julian-barnes/