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6/17
It was Krishna’s wedding. Krishna, my closest pal during childhood; my first best friend (first best friend !! does that sound strange ? well ! at different times in life I had different best friends. Guys with whom I had nothing to hide and who hid nothing from me. My brothers.) All day I was wondering what to give. He generally was fond of things carved out of glass. The only doubt was whether he still liked showpieces . well, I thought I’d go to the shop and decide. Brigades was on the way. I decided to put at stop at Archies there to choose a gift. As always there was no place to park. Went downwards alng Church Street looking for a space. Drove, drove and drove .. finally found a place to park. Turned around to see something that I would always love to see. Blossoms. Something was going on. Was it being renovated ? No, this was the newly furnished ground floor and was still being filled with books. I went to the first floor – straight to the du Maurier section. Eyes sought ‘My cousin Rachel’ . There it was – a greenish book with a lady draped in a green shawl looking directly at me. Behind her was a house, a villa. The villa was a bit far off. Between the villa and her one could see a lot of greenery. Trees all around and a well maintained lawn.
I turned the book and started with what was written on the back cover (I hate reading whatever is written in the back cover. I feel it somehow gives away the author, somehow cheats me, somehow doesn’t give me the right to let the events unwind in my mind since I start expecting things to happen. My best readings have come from books of which I hadn’t read an introduction, of which I knew nothing, expected nothing. I don’t know how many of you like to see movie trailers or would enjoy the movie after you have been told the story.) Anyway, the crime was committed. I read it in a single go ..
“Ambrose married Rachel and never returned home. His letters to his cousin hinted that he was being poisoned and when Philip arrived in Italy, Ambrose was dead…”
I’ll put a stop to Gorky and start with du Maurier.
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6/20
It’s a flashback. Philip’s flashback. It’s about him recounting the events that haunt him. Philip ? Philip in ‘The Mill on the floss’ had a hunchback, Philip in ‘Of Human Bondage’ had a clubfoot, what disadvantage does this Philip have ? None? He is orphaned, yes, but none with his physique, something with the psyche though.
When the narrative starts with Tom Jenkyn’s hanging that he had witnessed in his childhood, you wonder why he is telling about it and as you go further, you tend to dismiss it as some bad happening that he had witnessed as a kid.
Having lost his parents at a very young age he was brought up by Ambrose, his cousin. Ambrose was everything to Philip, He was Philip’s father, mother, guardian, teacher, role model – all in one. Ambrose is unmarried, is very passionate about garden, always trying to gather some rare shrub to plant.
The story starts with a middle aged Ambrose not being able to withstand winters in England. He is advised to go to a hotter place and this time Ambrose decides to go to Italy. From Italy he writes to Philip often. In one of his letters he mentions about meeting a distant cousin of theirs, cousin Rachel. In the next few letters he is all words about Rachel, describing her interest in gardening and trees. The letter after that comes with the news of him being married to Rachel. This is a shock to Philip and he feels as though someone has taken Ambrose away from him. But he conveys the news to his neighbours who are really happy upon hearing the news. The letters from Ambrose stop coming. After a long time, Philip gets a very short letter from Ambrose, in illegible handwriting , hinting that his wife is trying to kill him. Philip gets alarmed, speaks to his godfather Nick Kendal, who says Ambrose might not be well and that he might have tumour in the head that his father had. Philip sets out to Italy.
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6/21
On the way he gets a mail from Ambrose asking him to leave to Italy immediately. With great difficulty he get to Florence and when he reaches the Sangaletti villa, he is informed that Ambrose is dead. Philip is almost devastated and inconsolable. He could not even imagine that he would never see Ambrose again. He comes to know that Rachel has left the place taking away all of Ambrose’s possessions except for a hat. Philip takes the hat and sets out to meet Rachel’s friend Rainaldi. Rainaldi is a matter-of-fact businesslike person and Philip takes an immediate dislike for him. Philip sets back to England. After a few months, he is called by his godfather Nick who tells him about a mail from Rachel. Rachel was planning to come to visit them.
Header Image - “Cornwall England” by barnyz via Flickr