Enjoyed it. The characters are described beautifully. But the logic of the double murder? It's a bit too easy. Things seemed rushed. Why does Garmony's wife love him so? A more slowly developed character study of each of them would have helped me. Interesting, because my usual comment is: "this could have been told in a half of the words used."
Molly was ashes. He would work through the night and sleep until lunch. There wasn't really much else to do. Make something, and die.
These types - novelists were by far the worst - managed to convince friends and families that not only their working hours, but every nap and stroll, every fit of silence, depression or drunkenness bore the exculpatory ticket of high intent. A mask for mediocrity, was Clive's view. He didn't doubt that the calling was high, but bad behaviour was not a part of it.
When at last he directed his attention out of the window, a familiar misanthropy had settled on him and he saw in the built landscape sliding by nothing but ugliness and pointless activity. [...] Now it appeared that this was what it really was - square miles of meagre modern houses whose principal purpose was the support of TV aerials and dishes; factories producing worthless junk to be advertised on the televisions and, in dismal lots, lorries queueing to distribute it; and everywhere else, roads and the tyrranny of traffic. It looked like a raucous dinner party the morning after. No one would have wished it this way, but no one had been asked. Nobody planned it, nobody wanted it, but most people had to live in it.
Was it boredom or sadism that made the shirt service people do up every single button?
