The writer reflects on his time in the French capital
Thinking about the events in Paris,I remember that a contemporary French philosopher said, “We need time to find the words for our bewilderment.” Unfortunately I cant remember which philosopher it was. My memory, or once quite good,is playing tricks. This morning I couldn’t even be certain that it was Marlowe who wrote the play The Massacre At Paris. I looked it up, and was pleased to see that I had been right. It was a typical aged mans pleasure. A wardrobe falls on his head, or he congratulates himself for remembering the word “wardrobe”.
You know that terrorism is getting its way when you find yourself in a discussion with your daughter about whether your granddaughter should be discouraged from sitting in a Left Bank cafe on her first visit to Paris about seven years from now. At the moment,two of my writer friends are visiting Paris and I have just written to both saying how much I would like to join them and sit in a cafe while we talked, read and wrote: the things we finish best. But I can afford that doughty thought because I won’t be going there.
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Source: theguardian.com