After reaching Part 2, I can safely say that this book is shaping up to be one of my favorite we’ve read so far. It is probably because of the honest, straightforward way Tony narrates the story; at first, I disliked his insecure and fickle behavior of idolizing Adrian and trying to appear smart, yet it seems that with Part 2 comes a more mature, intelligent Tony who is at peace with himself. Though I was surprised, to say the least, that 40 years of his life were glossed over in one page, I like the sudden contrast in age; it makes it that much more noticeable of how his perceptions about himself and the world have changed. I found his introspective musings about aging to be quite interesting, particularly the idea that he spent his whole young adult time waiting for adult life to start and yet upon reflection now, it seems that life has just breezed by in a second. Like he said, it is all about creating a future for yourself until at some point, you realize that instead of forward, you start looking back to remember the past.
However, the sudden introduction of Adrian’s diary brings a jolting stop to Tony’s quiet, peaceful life. I think it is something that he needs at the moment, particularly because it seems as if he is just waiting for death at this point –the diary is what causes all the memories to start flooding back. I like Tony’s solid relationship with Margaret, and while I am glad he does not ever reminisce about Victoria, it is interesting to me that he just blocked off all that occurred during that time; it’s as if he stored it away forever. I’m interested in seeing what effect the reintroduction of all the characters from his past will
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