excerpt from the pigeon

two small excerpts from patrick suskind's book 'the pigeon'. the story follows a 50-something year old parisian named johnathan noel, who has fallen into the trap of living his life within his comfort zone.

"...he nevertheless hoped that he would finally find himself in a state of monotone serenity and uneventfulness; the only state, in fact, for which he longed."

"...johnathan noel came to the conclusion that you cannot depend on people, and you can live in peace if only you keep them at arms length."

the pigeon resonates deeply with me. noel lives his whole life, existing within the confines of his parisian apartment, and his day job at the bank. he longs only to be left alone and to enjoy his quiet serenity, even if it doesnt fit other peoples definition of a normal or happy life.

still, i feel bad for the character of noel, never wanting more than to simply exist and be comfortable.

but maybe thats all that any of us really want at the end of the day?