When he was already an
American writer
Thinking about the
enthusiasm with which VN has been appropriated as an “American” writer has
prompted me, though no mathematician, to do some calculating. VN lived for 78/79
years. Of these, he spent 18 in
Maybe his story had
been ghosted into English by another person, perhaps the noble paraphrast,
Conmal
It has dawned on me
that Sirin’s ghost was not Conmal in person, but one or other of his two
research assistants, either the hefty LeBrev, usually known as “Guts”, or a
lesser vassal, Steve Blurg.
Jerry’s suggestion that
“zesty” might be at home in Madison Avenue gave me some pause, when suddenly the
gates of perception opened wide, and I saw it all, YES, in glittering letters,
ten foot tall: !ZESTY! --- that cup of morning bliss --- brings your teeth to
life --- your regular bowl of flakes --- dogs bark for it --- cats scratch for
it --- puts vim in your man ---
AND, for the morning after: what better bote than a glass of sparkling
Alka-ZESTY!
Charles