And when he came back to, he was flat on his back on the beach in the freezing sand, and it was raining out of a low sky, and the tide was way out.
That sentence puts a lump in my throat.
Yeah I remember. And so all the rest of the previous DG scenes flow from this moment that you only get at the end? I’ve been to AA and the rock bottom come to Jesus moment is indeed a big thing; but I wonder if it coming at the end indicates DFW being really more interested in this journey than the Entertainment. Interested in other thoughts. I think it comes down to the fact I didn’t really think it would end with Gately. I must read it again
Well, Gately almost died feeding himself a certain kind of entertainment. Those few days with Fackelmann are a normal person's nightmare, but a drug addicts nightmare and ALSO biggest dream come through. I phantasized about mountains of cocaine when I was doing cocaine and I wasn't even a really bad, hard-core addict.
But yes, I also didn't think the book would end like that, but then again, I had no clue how it could end. So yes, I guess it ends with Gately's rock bottom, which is in every case a "moment of clarity," where you really see how far down addiction has taken you. My "moment of clarity, incidentally, was also on a dreary beach.
Although , not quite sure on the timeline but I don't think that's his come to Jesus moment because the robbery and murder of the Quebecois VIP comes some time after. Since he does that together with Trent Kite, who is all that remains of his old crew after the death of Fackelmann
Is that after the beach wake up? Right. So what’s the significance? Am fascinated. Even a lot of the IJ summaries don’t really deal with Gately in detail
oh, not sure. possible answers... a) DFW didn't know how to end it b) it's a nice poetic atmospheric sentence to end on c) we've had the first half of his life in more or less chronological order in the hospital flashbacks, this would be the last event of significance before we meet him again in the robbery at the start of the book
I also finished IJ on a train. It's nice to have some scenery to stare at while you process it.
And when he came back to, he was flat on his back on the beach in the freezing sand, and it was raining out of a low sky, and the tide was way out. That sentence puts a lump in my throat.
superb prose at the end
This is stupid to clarify but - in context, this is his rock bottom, right? That’s the point?
Yes, that's how I read it. The drug dealers who tortured the other guy dumped him there.
Yeah I remember. And so all the rest of the previous DG scenes flow from this moment that you only get at the end? I’ve been to AA and the rock bottom come to Jesus moment is indeed a big thing; but I wonder if it coming at the end indicates DFW being really more interested in this journey than the Entertainment. Interested in other thoughts. I think it comes down to the fact I didn’t really think it would end with Gately. I must read it again
Well, Gately almost died feeding himself a certain kind of entertainment. Those few days with Fackelmann are a normal person's nightmare, but a drug addicts nightmare and ALSO biggest dream come through. I phantasized about mountains of cocaine when I was doing cocaine and I wasn't even a really bad, hard-core addict. But yes, I also didn't think the book would end like that, but then again, I had no clue how it could end. So yes, I guess it ends with Gately's rock bottom, which is in every case a "moment of clarity," where you really see how far down addiction has taken you. My "moment of clarity, incidentally, was also on a dreary beach.
Thank you
Although , not quite sure on the timeline but I don't think that's his come to Jesus moment because the robbery and murder of the Quebecois VIP comes some time after. Since he does that together with Trent Kite, who is all that remains of his old crew after the death of Fackelmann
Is that after the beach wake up? Right. So what’s the significance? Am fascinated. Even a lot of the IJ summaries don’t really deal with Gately in detail
the significance is just that this wouldn't have been the episode that inspired him to go to AA like it seemed like you implied
No no I don’t mean that, sorry; I mean what’s the significance therefore of the book ending with this scene
oh, not sure. possible answers... a) DFW didn't know how to end it b) it's a nice poetic atmospheric sentence to end on c) we've had the first half of his life in more or less chronological order in the hospital flashbacks, this would be the last event of significance before we meet him again in the robbery at the start of the book
I like C. Many thanks
That's when he came in?
Congrats. Now let’s all give a standing O for Barry Loach.
Nice.
And round you go my friend :)
wünderbar!