35, WG21, E28, / NG14, D7, C1, Frz0, B1, NA0

Frederick Forsyth, No Comebacks

Auch ohne den traurigen Anlass wäre ein Wiederlesen der Kurzgeschichtensammlung mal wieder fällig gewesen. Dabei fiel mir immer wieder auf, wie zeitlos sie geblieben sind, und hie und da richtig aktuell, wie z.B. bei "Privilege" - so vieles bleibt eben immer gleich. Abgesehen von einem leisen Bedauern, dass Frauen bei Forsyth überwiegend schlecht wegkommen war das Wiederlesen eine echte Freude, besonders bei meinen Favoriten "A Careful Man", "The Emperor" und "Money with Menaces".
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Murgatroyd stared at the water and felt the awe that dwells on the edge of fear, so much companion to men in small boats. A craft may be proud, majestic, expensive and strong in the calm water of a fashionable port, admired by the passing socialite throng, the showpiece of its rich possessor. Out on the ocean it is sister to the reeking trawler, the rusted tramp, a poor thing of welded seams and bolted joints, a frail cocoon pitting its puny strength against unimaginable power, a fragile toy on a giant's palm. Even with four others around him, Murgatroyd sensed the insignificance of himself and the impertinent smallness of the boat, the loneliness that the sea can inspire. Those alone who have journeyed on the sea and in the sky, or across the great snows or over desert sands, know the feeling. All are vast, merciless, but most awesome of all is the sea, because it moves.
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(Frederick Forsyth, The Emperor, aus 'No Comebacks')