Horst-Maxine-Windust

[alice malice]

> Besides what else you wrote about Horst's character, thanks for continuing
> to make my case; Maxine--a reliable narrator in her judgment of Horst, it
> would seem...wrote about his silo-like emotional inexpressiveness...(I ask,
> is that a 'good'
> or even neutral quality in this book?, in TRP's vision)
>

Maxine is not a reliable narrator.

Even if she were, she's not a very good judge of character. She works with
assumptions, worn out stereotypes, her insecurities and prejudices.

Who, other than Maxine's mother, who is also a poor judge of character, a
female family trait that is stitched into their opposing,  though equally
flawed,  fashion sense, tells us that Horst is a bad man? Not a one. He's a
good guy. Not perfect. He likes bad TV comedy, as David pointed out, but he
also says, Comedy is Sacred. Not such a dumb idea. And the author saves him
from the towers, with a late night in front of the Tube, he wakes late and
lives. And, his response, though he does get pulled in to his kid's
speculations about options on airline stocks, he can't help himself for a
moment there, is by far the most positive one in the novel. His response to
the event is contrasted with that of the city, the nation, the world. The
go crazy watching the media loop and are driven to conspiracy madness and
revenge plotting. Horst mourns and then he sheds his pain with laughter,
with comedy. His comedy maybe bad TV comedy, but it does the job. Like bad
music or whatever other junk pop people take comfort in, it works not cause
he's dumb or too stupid to think up a plot, to entangle himself in a web of
conspiracy, but because he is, as you said, Mark, a kind of American that
doesn't get all hysterical and lose his religion over one really bad day in
a score of good ones he;s been Graced with. And yes, he's been Graced with
money, but money ain't all that bad.



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