Saturday 28 June 2008

Relatively speaking

My very artistic close friend, herself prone to anxiety, recently told me that after seeing me she often feels calm. That's nice, I said, wondering how on earth this could be. She went on: Compared to you, I feel like a phlegmatic lump. I smile when I think of her words, they seem like a compliment though they probably aren't. She has printed out the book cover for me with the new blurb - full size, full colour, I only had the old one, and it was in black and white. I am so impatient now to to get my hands on the real thing.

4 comments:

Anonymous said...

If I were clever enough to have written a novel I would just want to own dozens and dozens of them and would not stop touching them.

This feels like the sort of thing that one shouldn´t share.

nmj said...

mr Z, i'm sure there will be a bit of caressing of TSOM when the time comes, i really can't imagine how it's going to feel!

trousers said...

Phlegmatic lump - great use of words. I sort of think they're beyond the status of compliment or (unintentionally) otherwise, in a way. If someone is comfortable enough just to tell you how she feels things are....well in itself I think that's pretty complimentary.

nmj said...

Definitely a case of comic exaggeration - she is the least phlegmatic, lumpish person I know, full of energy, she runs marathons! But I am in no doubt she feels calm next to me.