The Tractate Middoth by M.R. James

 POSSIBLE SPOILER

‘—weepers. Yes, that is the man.’

But with the dried tears of an unusually happy serendipitous ending!  But we don’t see the face lower down!

And teeming with unbelievable coincidences… such as Garrett’s chance meeting, via his own illness, with a complete stranger, a Mrs Simpson, on a train to Burnstow-on-Sea from ‘Oh Whistle’, and she happens to be connected with the earlier book incident in the library and thus Garrett’s illness itself!… yet, I can’t complain, as my gestalt real-time reviewing itself has ever depended on such preternatural synchronicities as a pattern for fiction truth. 

You can easily find its  plot summary set out, so I will concentrate on what struck me when re-reading it today…

The crucial library catalogue number 11.3.34. There is a novel entitled ‘334’ by Thomas Disch. And most of the novel’s characters live at 334 East 11th Street! 
Less striking perhaps, I have lived for many years in a house numbered 113. And 34 was an important number for my mother all her life.

“‘Half-past ten, this morning.’ / ‘Oh, good; and it’s just one now.’” The interesting comparison of the question about ‘a very long way’ mentioned about Garrett when getting the book for Eldred in the library towards the start and the triangulated walking route versus  that of a car from the station to Eldred’s Bretfield place towards the end. All reminiscent of Aickman’s wading through time and distance, that I have compared to Zeno’s Paradox. “‘Bretfield, sir? Yes—three miles just about. Short cut across these three fields brings it down by half a mile.’” — ”And here is Mr. Heldred’s note applying for the book in question, which I see he terms it a track.” And the Zeno’s Paradox by will-power of ever seeming to reach  that crucial fly-leaf of ‘Talmud: Tractatus Middoth cum comm. R. Nachmanidae. Amstelod. 1707. Given by J. Rant, D.D., of Bretfield Manor.’

The images connected with the ‘parson’ or ‘clergyman’ Dr Rant are very haunting, the cobwebs, the black dust, large spiders et al. And the brick room where he wanted to be buried!

All’s well that’s ends well, though, with a MISS Simpson!

‘…but for all that, books have played me a sad turn, or rather a book has.’

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All my reviews of M.R. James: https://dflewisreviews.wordpress.com/my-ongoing-reviews-of-m-r-james-stories/