3
toothache. Not normally troubled by this
affliction I've had quite a bit of trouble
in the past 2 months as a result of various
fillings. Hitherto the dentist I go to,a
very nice New Zealander, has been
splendid. I don't blame him in the
slightest - I think like all ageing things
the teeth are the worse for wear. Anyway,
back again to him this a.m. though the
pain has subsided.
Despite some pain last night I
ploughed on in SONS AND LOVERS which I'm
rereading for my Ealing boys and girls -
one is nearly 70! Again and again I found
tears coming into my eyes. What a man!
And how,unlike Yeats, sad that he went on
to write those later diffuse novels not
quite grounded in reality. Yet at the same
time what a xxxx heroic struggle - a man
dying yet travelling,writing and quarreling
with intensity. The marital situation in
SONS AND LOVERS in some respects xx was
is
like that of my parents. Makes it easy to
identify. And I love the sparse - and all
the more effective - use of dialect,almost
all of which is understandable in the
context.
Last Sat's IRISH TIMES had 2 letters
dealing with mine of Oct.26 (which I
showed you). Ewart Milne's didn't say very
much and his reference to me was polite:
