A DISAFFECTION

In this book by James Kelman, the main character (a teacher, like me) discovers a piece of old copper piping which he blows into, making a resonant and satisfying sound. The pipe becomes a sort of fetish for him, charged with meaning. In contrast to this, his work and relationships, the daily grind, have become a surreal procession of events from which he feels completely alienated.

There is a wonderful sentence, now forgotten, where he defines the entire dilemma, and it was the hidden climax of the book. The hero muses to himself that no one values anything that is of any real value; and the things that are accorded the highest esteem have no worth at all.

Looking at the online "headlines" and ads that flash at me every time I log on, I feel that, every day, more than ever.