Having 'saved' Tilman for many years I have just finished my first. 'Triumph and Tribulation' has been a very good companion for the last week of rationed reading. I am deeply struck by his toughness and humility; his ability to devote an entire paragraph to a duff, whilst a short sentence will express his utter dissatisfaction with a situation or crew member. I found his lack of sentimentality to be, somewhat counter-intuitively, deeply moving. The concept of an aging, in fact old, man with an old boat plugging on with dogged determination, is stirring. The fact that he makes no disguise of his impending feebleness, but is openly defiant, struck many chords with me. I'm only 38, but already I sense that I am supposed to begin to think in an 'older' manner; to concede youthful thoughts and desires to the young, I don't, and, deliciously, Tilman, at twice my age, doesn't either. He does not allow time to dictate his actions. He remains young. The incredible pathos of the last page, is crafted by the delicate hand of a true master. A great man, and one of those whom I would have been honoured to meet.
I'm off to ebay to buy some more. True reading pleasure.
Nicki
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