I'm one chapter into Book II and so far I think we've lost Cohn, maybe. So everything I said before about him being the protagonist is probably wrong.
But now we have Bill Gorton, the taxidermist. (which is a really creepy conversation they had and I hope it had no meaning)
"Never be daunted. Secret of my success. Never been daunted in public" (page 79).
BOLOGNA! Every other sentence of this book someone is drinking. At first I thought it meant to never get scared in public-don't let anything frighten you. Then I read it again and clearly they are talking about drinking too much.
I agree, being intoxicated probably hinders success, but Jake and Bill are equals in their business and Jake parties every night, so it seems. No one drives in Paris, so who cares? The characters in this book are so disillusioned! In their previous conversation, Bill can't recall anything that happened in Vienna until he was prompted by Jake. Why wouldn't he remember unless he was drunk? His little "secret to success" just goes to show how everyone in this novel is talking to talk- there is no real point. I'm pretty mad right now and I hope Book II will begin to establish some sort of theme. (Chapter One doesn't hold much hope.)
This post is mainly to point out that there is no "explication" to be done. I can't figure it out and I'm extremely frustrated.
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