It’s very hard not to just devour this novel in one sitting and even though I’ve sen the film numerous times, it is like discovering these characters anew.

It never really occurred to me that his father represented more than just the old ways of English provincial life, but of the state of all human ‘dignity’ (as the west understood it) at large – hence his Lordships exasperation with the Treaty of Versailles.

The scene involving the tiger and the unperturbed, ‘perfect butler’ reminds me of ‘The Hunger Artist’ by Kafka. In that story the hunger artist is replaced after his death by a savage panther, a beast full of life and vitality. The artist was pure restraint, denying himself the very essence of life.

This novel’s discussion about duty is the exact opposite of what Kafka was interested in but they connect too.