A lost world

Having read the first four books of Dance to the Music of Time you start to get drawn into a world that seems so much friendlier than this one.

I have been wondering about whether or not it is possible to be more like Nicholas Jenkins, the narrator of the story, moving from scene to scene being willing to spend time talking and listening to people being friend to all and enemy to none.

The conclusion is that sadly it is not. For various reasons including the fact this is not pre-war Britain but a much darker society where walking around on a pub crawl with an old man like Jeavons at night would just be asking for trouble.

There is also the added factor that most of us are not treated with any where near the same levels of friendship and respect shown to Jenkins. These books are possibly much more attractive because they are describing a lost world. In that sense they remind me of Stephen Poliakoff’s TV dramas, particularly the last one about Capturing Mary, where that lost world of the evening drinks parties, black tie and aristocrats is so mesmerising.