Atdtda34: An old rogue's dream, 972-975 #1

[Paul Nightingale]

The new section continues where 64.27 ended: 'they began the long switchback
...' etc provides a focus on Reef/Yashmeen/Ljubica, even though 'they' are
quickly sidelined by the update on 'a ceasefire in effect now ...' etc. The
text makes it clear: 'mingling part of the way'. Nonetheless, if this is how
the section begins, it will close, at the bottom of 974, with history
sidelined by the interaction of characters.

On 972 the first paragraph ends with the reintroduction of Reef; Yashmeen
isn't mentioned until the top of 973, shortly before Auberon Halfcourt
reappears (she is, of course, not with Reef here). The determinism that ends
64.26 is evident here: '... they felt as if they were still moving, borne on
some invisible conveyance, following some crooked, complicated path ...' etc
(972).

Previously Reef has been identified as a poor fisherman (971); here we find
he is 'no sailor' (972), although we are denied access to his reason for
vomiting, 'because he [doesn't] care or [can't] wait'. Similarly, at the end
of the first paragraph, the narrative is vague, failing to tell the reader
how many cigarettes he keeps: 'one or two, maybe'. A precise description is
missing here, the narrative failing where, perhaps, Halfcourt will
subsequently claim insight, 'summon[ing] the old intuitive powers, don't you
know' (973, with, on 974: 'As if having read his daughter's mind ...' etc).
The card's safe arrival ('My postal. You actually got it?') echoes that of
the travellers themselves, bottom of 972, '... where the first thing they
did was ... light candles and offer thanks'.

Upon landing in Corfu there is an abrupt shift to the upcoming period: 'They
would stay the rest of the winter and into the spring ...' etc, a sweeping
statement that confirms safety by emphasising stasis. The game of cricket,
with 'nothing imaginable of darkness or blood' is both a reminder of
imperialism and also evidence of the distance they have come. Not
surprisingly, cricket joins fishing and sailing as a mark of Reef's
inadequacy (top of 973). Moreover, in this passage, we find 'foreign'
sporting culture juxtaposed to indigenous religious culture.