Atdtda27: That said, 765-766

[Paul Nightingale]

Previously, the act of reading Yashmeen's letter has been implicit, ie one
can infer the letter's role in provoking Halfcourt's thoughts on 759-760.
Here, however, the narrative refers directly to a rereading; and one can go
back to Veikko's postcard on 84, where rereading means a return to a first
reading. Halfcourt confides in Mushtaq, perhaps recalling their last
exchange regarding "the exile of the present tense" (759). Halfcourt calls
himself "[a]n elderly man in a shabby uniform" (765); Mushtaq urges him to
go back, so to speak, renew relations with Yashmeen. Previously Halfcourt
compared himself favourably to "[y]oung Mr. Traverse" (763); here, he
appears to regret his life. The "elderly man in a shabby uniform" (765) is
self-deprecating and perhaps fishing for compliments only Mushtaq, it seems,
can provide.