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

[Dave Monroe]

Thanks as always, Paul!

On Sat, Nov 26, 2011 at 9:53 AM, Paul Nightingale <isread at btinternet.com> wrote:
> 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.
>
>