peter rietbergen

Of course, this was to be expected. The maximum of melodrama. By the way: Valerata,or Velarata. And how come that in this tale people always turn up in houses, or restaurants, where they have 't been invited, or cannot even normally get into?

This is a very funny chapter. And more than that: it moves the story on. But no, a medieval German boy would not have known Beowulf. And, if I remember correctly, the English didn't rediscover the tale till - oh, I don't know. The eighteenth century??? But correct me if I am wrong. And again: it doesn't really matter....

Lemuel! Not, I suppose, Lumiel.

Is it the author's intention that we assume Mr Fitzgibbon is completely oblivious to his son's " tastes", and tasting, despite the fact that publicity would mean social ostracism?

If AI says so.... Two friends of mine who have studied early Islamic cuisine do not agree. But: no matter...

A fork to eat with? I doubt it, nrither in medieval Europe nor, even more so, the Middle East. But a bath: yes. Not in Europe but definitely in the Middle East. But a German boy would of course want to be paid for it...Even European nobles stank till the 19th century.

Obviously, this chapter provides the catharsis. Or, at least, the start of one. For D. What it does for A. can be surmised. But I await the author's choice...

I love the scene with the cat's purring comment on A's total obliviousness.

By the way: was "fork" really an accepted term in the pre-gay subculture! And would a young gentleman as was T have known it?

If the three monsters spread the tale they still can do D a lot of harm.

Aha, the "Idiot Savant"... What s clever plot element you've invented.

I knew the feeling of comfort the first chapter excudes would not last. The Town represents reality. We need to accept it.

Having a mentor who helps you sort out your life is good. Having one who tells you how to actually live it may be a bit much...

The masturbation scene is well-told indeed.

A very comforting story. I somehow need(ed) it. Thanks.

An interesting comparison, but for the boy/boy instead of the boy)girl situation. And of course S did without any reference to sex...

I assume marital means martial...🙂

When the older A entered the Philharmonic's grand Hall I felt like screaming: no, no, no. Luckily, something happened in the lines following that moment. And I can now forgive the author- for just as authors must, sometimes, forgive themselves for the lines they've written, it is a reader's privilege to forgive him if, in the end, those lines yet deliver their promise.

Obviously, I'll now never be able to listen to Clair de Lune or Gaspard de la Nuit anymore without thinking of this tale. Admittedly, I don't know whether that's a good thing, but since there is, I feel, no such thing as absolute music, music that doesn't conjure up images, scenes, stories, I accept that this one in a strange way, will be that.

Since - realistically...- there is little chance the two young man will be able to bridge the many differences between them, the author has set himself quite a challenge...But this is, of course, a fantasy, and in fantasies much can happen...

I found the emotional interaction between J and the people in the bar really moving. As to the rain scene: it shows that a few lines can be both unabashedly sentimental in an almost Hollywood-filmic way and yet entirely convincing. Which is saying something....

Precisely because here we have an author as gifted as N I feel I must be honest. In this chapter we did need the first part, the session with the psychotherapist. And of course we did need - expect, really- the last part, where Mark appears out of the sea, as if reborn. As, obviously, both he and J are. But I do have my doubts about the intermediate part, with the journalist. Since J has been refusing interviews for so long, there seems no reason why he should, essentially, give one now. The journalist'd questions are 't particularly perspicacious. It seems the section purports to move the story forward - while it doesn't need that. Moreover, it also seems to explain what the newest composition is about. But precisely a composer as gifted as J would, I think, never feel the need to explain a piece - certainly not one as essential to him as this - to the world-wide audience that's now getting to read the "back tale", if only because it is a horrible as it is. In short, I feel this is out of character and does, in a way, mar our understanding of J as a person and a composer.

As one who once hesitated between a career as a musician and an academic, I find the first part of this chapter deeply moving. I don't know the body of literature about the psychology of performing, but this might well become part of it, if only because it shows how, ideally, a musician will move beyond the performance. As to the nine years that elapsed: I think the author has given us everything we needed to knoe about what happened that night, at least as far as J's parents are concerned. As to the man in the bed. Well, be it who he is - I do not necessarily crave a happy end - we yet need to know what happened to Marc, since he was a 'failed gilded thing', too, and, in many ways, more hurt than Julian.

Heart-wrenching. I must admit I now hope this story does not go on for many more chapters. Somehow that won't "work" - for me at least. But the author will decide.

Agreed. But assumedly Mark will have to learn as much as J, or even more, to escape from the cage his parents have build for and around him - as did, obviously, Julian's parents. Both face essentially, the process of growing up into responsible adulthood.