Yes, that makes sense. But accepting a conversation with a plane seatmate feels different than accepting an invitation with a near-stranger who you maybe distrust, alone, to go swimming in a remote lagoon. The lens has been, for me, on the people she meets, but I am starting to wonder more about her

I’ve thought about “airing the shaded crevices of his being” a lot over the past few days. There are some special, almost sacred, experiences that seem to fall into this space … an electric sunset, an unexpected meeting of gaze, a portentous silence freighted with meaning. This is powerful to me.

I am beginning to wonder why she is electing to spend so much time with people she seems to find grating, annoying, unpleasant. And what are they seeing in her? Perhaps they enjoy her listening, although if they heard her stream-of-consciousness judgment, they might steer clear #rachelcusktogether

Thank you. A good place for me to start.

Nope. Not charming.

Wow … from the head of a writer, special delivery.

Yes, and same for Ryan. Dislikable, but fully realized.

And waoh

The armchair in laws I suspect I will never forget. That imagery is incredible!

This is carrying through in the next narrator. Everyone has a persona they are trying to build.

Yes! I just read that book this summer. What a wonderful first line!