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St Swithins Day, spoilers?

Elijah, Freelance Rabbi

19:23 / 28.08.01

ok, the ? was because i dont know whose read it already,
anyhoo
what are you opinions, i just got my copy by mail from the ebay gods and read it before work today, i enjoyed it, although was a bit perplexed by the ending

Did he ever have a gun? Did he ever go face to face with thatcher?

ENG

Ganesh

22:15 / 28.08.01

Yes, the 'Neurotic Boy Outsider' came face-to-face with Thatcher. No, it wasn't a gun, it was his finger; he pointed it and said 'bang'. Thatcher's security men jumped him but, in forcing her to admit fear, even for a moment, he confronted his own inner 'angsty demons' and felt happier with himself.

That's it, really. Simple but effective. Even imaginary bullets can change one's inner world.

DaveBCooper

06:15 / 29.08.01

I think he may actually have a gun earlier on in the story, but when he throws the books off the bridge, am I right in remembering that there are three splashes ? As he stole only two books, I always wondered if the third splash sound was him throwing the gun in too.
Just a thought (my copy's god-only-knows where in the boxes).
DBC

Steve Block

09:37 / 07.04.02

But is the story a dream or does he die and the afterlife is a train? Been a while since I read it.

rizla mission

10:11 / 07.04.02

I assumed that was what happens - the security guards bash his head in and kill him .. but then, thinking back I suppose it would make more sense if they just knocked him unconscious and he dreamt of the train. Don't suppose it's really all that important, either way it's a perfect ending to the story.

Big Talk

00:42 / 09.04.02

the train sugests that he's still crazy- but happy crazy.

he's broken the stasis- but he didn't kill himself, or any one else- a la the marx inscription, less neurotic theorizing + more input/interaction.

Grant's said in an interview that the book is taken from his diaries at 17, with the thatcher thing instead of . . . what?

Steve Block

05:45 / 09.04.02

If he was 17, either a parent or friend I would guess. Although it could be anyone, Bill Grundy onwards. It could be Thatcher, she was about in the early seventies, she bacame notorious with the milk snatching when she was education secretary under Heath.

08:01 / 09.04.02

the way i saw it, he had a gun and WAS planning on killing Thatcher, but decided to symbolically "shoot" her instead right at the end. From what i recall from reading interviews and suchlike, Grant took most of the stuff from his diaries and just added the Thatcher part on.

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