Intriguing - leaves me with more questions than answers
An intriguing book that leaves me with more questions than it answered.
On his way to Berlin, the narrator meets an old college acquaintance, Jeff, due to board the same flight. Jeff has changed since college: he’s well groomed and obviously doing well for himself. Their flight is delayed and Jeff invites the narrator to the first class lounge to wait.
During this time, Jeff reveals what has happened to him since leaving college.
Jeff saved the life of a man - a man who turned out to be a rich, powerful and well-connected art dealer - and it changed his life. He became obsessed with finding out who this man, Francis Arsenault, was. He inserted himself into his life, both professionally and personally, and it led him to becoming the married, successful art dealer that he is today.
Jeff’s telling feels confessional. He claims to have never told anyone the story before. He seems to want absolution, claiming regularly emphasising that there was “no planning or forethought” as to how events unfolded.
As the story unfolds, I kept waiting for the twist. It does come, but the story keeps you waiting.
However, after finishing the book (and finding it entertaining), I’m left with the questions:
- who is our narrator?
- why would an acquaintance of twenty years ago suddenly confess all of these events, opening himself up to being found out by revealing truths he’s kept hidden for so long?
On his way to Berlin, the narrator meets an old college acquaintance, Jeff, due to board the same flight. Jeff has changed since college: he’s well groomed and obviously doing well for himself. Their flight is delayed and Jeff invites the narrator to the first class lounge to wait.
During this time, Jeff reveals what has happened to him since leaving college.
Jeff saved the life of a man - a man who turned out to be a rich, powerful and well-connected art dealer - and it changed his life. He became obsessed with finding out who this man, Francis Arsenault, was. He inserted himself into his life, both professionally and personally, and it led him to becoming the married, successful art dealer that he is today.
Jeff’s telling feels confessional. He claims to have never told anyone the story before. He seems to want absolution, claiming regularly emphasising that there was “no planning or forethought” as to how events unfolded.
As the story unfolds, I kept waiting for the twist. It does come, but the story keeps you waiting.
However, after finishing the book (and finding it entertaining), I’m left with the questions:
- who is our narrator?
- why would an acquaintance of twenty years ago suddenly confess all of these events, opening himself up to being found out by revealing truths he’s kept hidden for so long?