Pick up an unknown book by an unknown author . Nothing else
to do but read the back cover, a mistake I know but Is one
which captures us all at times, the front cover photograph
contains no badly posed 1970's geeks in flairs, no drug tok-
-ing 60's freaks nore sleek bussinessmen with swooning
secetarial sex scene, .going fine so far. .but it does however
show some or other detail from an old French painting, tastefull
descret decoration, .the type set of Author's name and title are
in small print without colour, .above is some crap about modern
classics series, .oh no I really don't know about this one. .1
will just take a look at the back. .NO! . .well, how else will I
get an insight into the book and whether it's worth reading..
just one small look. .this is a mistake, , but, ,,
And this is what I read:

" The measured tone of hopeless Nihilism that pervades (Title)
quickly shatters any image of ( Author) as the querulous and
impious Buddha to a quarter-century of intellectuals.."
. .oh fucking hell, what a load of bollocks, .still Nihilism ?
it continues .."

" . .But the setting could be anywhere .From puberty through
adolescense to death.The (title ) Is a rare encyclopedia of
human weakness, disorder and despair.''
Oh chrlst., , why should I have to read shit like this, , who is
this fucker and what does he mean to me, , will this be another
load of intellectual bullshit again, whats this ?
" ...harmless and mainly middte-to-upper-class Parisians.."
Who wants to read about them.
I could'nt careless about any of them.
What can they teach me, what I don't see every night on the
box ? More middle class freaks gibbering on to me about their
cares . .their worries, .their stupid lives.
I don't want to read that.
Why should I read that. ?

Why should ? fair enoughth. But who wrote all that crap on the
back.. somewhere.. someone doesn 't want you to read that.
The books that 20 years ago would have been cen sored ^nowdays

they just cover them in pretentious shit on the back page so that
the only people that read them are the ones that enjoy that sort of

33

Temptation to great . .pack a bag. walk out of the house and
walk out. .No. .not even pack a bag but plan ahead of t'me.
some four months or so. .then fcdl my self that I'm just goi-
ng out to the library/buy some ciggerettes. .except my
pockets are empty and I don't stop at the library/shop but
keep go'ng. .the first day to get out of this 'nfernal city..
where there is 8 danger of meet'ng oeople I may know. .keep
going, .food for the first week would be d'ff cu't getting to
know the ropes, ..after that things would/would not be easy

er but guided by the rsndon el ements of travel. . how 'ong
would I survive, .maybe only get as far ss the fruit market
and I've there with the knowledge of assured food. .No but
the urge to keep go ng would be stromg leave everything
in the flat and van'sh without the empty shell of oersonality
thati crustation of restraint, .a death trip where the need to
surv've ' s greatest.. .if I wasn't this (X) I would probably be
this (Y). .except (Y) would argue back if you arn't C<) then you
are someone else and this someone else (Y) doesn't want to
be (Y). .why. . (Y) is the invention of (X). .which is non-exist-
-ant. .tmposibleto tell what.

Taking nothing of the past. .empty of the restraints, .leave and
survive, .make no provisions to return, .there is no starting
point and no-destination, .how far to get..why go further. .
when it is ali'destroyed there 's no home.. so why not just stay3
a few hundred yards from the Starting point..now none existent.

^