Humility

My friend Roger recently finished the Alexanderplatz by Doblin and he asked me about the ending. I found my self in an awkward corner. Yes, I did read it, 12 years ago, in fact. I saw the Fassbinder film adaption as well as a 1932 film just two years ago: guess what I remember? Clive James cites Martin Amis that the memory of novels evaporate two years after reading them. I will question the 24 month term, but do agree that unless one reads a novel multiple times, the details tend to fade. This was reconfirmed Saturday night when my wife and I viewed I Served The King of England and I couldn't remember much at all of the plot. Funny, given that I have read Hrabal's Too Loud A Solitude about five times and recall most of that one.