"One of the great burdens on the king was his lack of privacy. He was followed, dawned on, protected, stared at. He had considered the use of disguises in the manner of Haroun-al- Raschid. At times he locked himself in his room simply to get away from the eyes and voices of the people who surrounded him."
" "I did not ask to be king", he said" but I am king and find this dear, rich, productive France torn by selfish factions, fleeced by greedy promoters, deceived by parties. I find there are six hundred ways of avoiding taxes...everyone robs everyone until a level is reached where there is nothing left to steal..."
Some passages from the recently finished book by the Nobel laureate John Steinbeck. Set in 1950s and first published in 1957, I find this political satire on France's life a complete diversion from his writing. A great masterpiece as though he has lived his life in France and know more about the society then the residents themselves. His knowledge of France, language, phrases used just can not let you believe he hasn't spent a lifetime or two on France.
One thing however remain contact with Steinbeck and that is the tragedy that Strick's his protagonists..
A must read classic, although I wish I had learnt the language and had a flare for reading English novels five decades back.. nevertheless, it's not late.. still surviving and making best of the current times.
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