The Following Story

I simply find this book extremely amusing. There have been numerous instances, which I will discuss in more detail in a moment, that have caused me to laugh out loud and in doing so procure odd looks from my peers.

Herman Mussert is just such a strange and awkward character. When he awakes in a completely different city than he has fallen asleep in, he immediately tried to rationalize it. He began by convincing himself that he was not dead because he had the ability to think. Mussert then tried to figure out if he was in fact himself in another place, or if he had inexplicably become someone else. His reaction to the whole situation, one which should cause panic and confusion, was so odd. In fact, it kind of reminded me of the main character in Kant's Metamorphosis. Noteboom actually includes the idea of metamorphosis throughout the book as well, and even with regards to a beetle, although not a dung beetle like that in Kant's book. Actually, he talks about a sexon beetle, which of course was kind of funny as well since our professor's name is Dr. Sexon and he somehow inadvertently seems to find his way into many of the books we read.

I think the thing that I found most funny about Mussert is his blatant awkwardness when it comes to human contact. He is so in tuned and emotionally connected with literature, but when it comes to humans he has no idea how to act. Sex is almost a painful thing for him to think about because the thought of physical human contact is so foreign and awkward for him. It is during scenes depicting such awkwardness that made me laugh the most. For example, he describes the sound made by a can opener tearing through the metal of a can as "one of the most sensual experiences he knows" (9). How is that in any way sensual? Most people find that noise irritation at best. His description of Latin and literature is much more sensual then his interaction with women. He compares his fingers to "a bunch of child molesters on the run from an institution" (22) when it came to people, but the caress of a page of a book was much different for him. Mussert feels like he is at home within his books, almost like he is part of them. He completely disconnects himself from people throughout the book. An example of this can be found on pg 28:

"So-called real life had only once interfered with me, and it had been a far cry from what the words, lines, books had prepared me for. Fate had to do with blind seers, oracles, choruses announcing death, not with panting next to the refrigerator, fumbling with condoms, waiting in a Honda parked in a Lisbon hotel. Only the written word exists; everything one must do oneself is without form, subject to contingency without rhyme or reason."

He is just so awkward! Everything about him is awkward. I can't imagine having him as a teacher. It cracks me up.