Atdtda34: An unreadable Balkan dog's dinner, 950-954 #2

[Paul Nightingale]

The arrival of Vamos takes Reef/Cyprian away from Gabrovo Slim and out to
the "long structure of weathered concrete" (952) and subterranean reality,
one in which they can evoke light as "the destructive agent" (953), a
passage ending with Cyprian's "I don't see any light sources here". There is
an attempt to understand ("It seems this isn't a gas weapon, after all"),
one leading to Reef's "God".

At this point we might consider the narrative as it unfolds from the start
of 64.10 on 948. The description of the farm on 948-949 includes "now and
then a shade tree" (949), followed by "traffic along the road easily seen
for miles", all of which emphasises light; and then, down the page,
"extended sunsets". The next section (64.11) opens in "early morning with
the women already back from the fields"; and the new-born child's "eyes
[are] enormously given to all the world around her". There is then a
transition with the arrival of the cyclists on 951 and a new emphasis on
aural comprehension, Cyprian going out ("I'll just go and have a look") to
confirm what he thinks he has heard. Vamos says they knew of Theign's death
when "[m]essages from the Venice station stopped arriving one day". Top of
954, the cyclists' departure is signalled by "[s]oon the engine sounds had
faded", and then the reference to the story they will tell Yashmeen.