Coetzee's The Pole

You probably already know: I'm a fan. Got it today and started (but don't think I've given up on Wordsworth: to some extent: he'll guide me through the Lake District).

Anyway, a snip from The Pole:

‘Listen to me, Witold,’ she says. ‘You barely know me, so let me tell you who I am. First and last, I am a married woman. Not a free spirit but a woman with a husband and children and a home and friends and commitments of all kinds, emotional commitments, social commitments, practical commitments. There is no room in my life for—what shall I call it?—an affair of the heart. You tell me you carry around with you an image of me. Good. But I don’t carry around an image of you. I don’t carry around an image of anyone. I am not that kind of person. You visited Barcelona, you gave a piano recital, which we all enjoyed; we had dinner together; and that was that. You passed into my life, you passed out of my life. Terminado. We have no future together, you and I. I am sorry to say so, but it is the truth. Now I think we should turn back. It is getting late.’

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