Time Re-manipulated

Thud! by Terry Pratchett is a humourous romp which swings with verve into aphorisms that strike one as allusions to Proustian themes.

How the sense of smell serves memory:

She prowled onwards in a world of color; smells overlaid one another, drifting and persisting. The nose was also the only organ that can see backwards in time.

And the use of stimulants reminds one of moments in Proust's biography that describe the use of stimulants to improve breathing and resulting in insomnia:

Coffee was only a way of stealing time that should by rights belong to your slightly older self.

It is fun to find these nuggets embedded in an engaging story. Even if they are not labelled as Proustian, they make us pause and admire the finesse with which perception intercepts memory.

And so for day 437
23.02.2008