POOR, CONFUSED AND MUDDLED

Lynne is in a library and she tells the librarian that she was very disappointed with the last book she borrowed as she thought it had a poor start, a confused middle and a muddled ending. The librarian says that is just like the story of his life and has a little cry.

Lynne's penchant for reading coupled with her family's strange financial situation has led her to go to the library for her literary fix rather than to a book shop. The books are free and really only available for those who do not work relegating the library to a haven for the old and the poor. These are not the sort of people that Lynne usually associates with.

Lynne is furious about the book she has read and she takes it out on the librarian. We assume he is the librarian because of his age and attire. That said, he could just be an old man who is browsing at the library. Lynne must know who he is; she wouldn't sound off to a member of public, surely. The librarian may have recommended the book to Lynne when she was last in, therefore the direction of her ire is justified.

The librarian has had an unhappy life. His poor start was due to learning difficulties in school which were not picked up thus causing him to do quite badly in exams. His confused middle was down to not coming to terms with his homosexuality, mainly because it was still a taboo in his days and his highly conservative parents would have all but disowned him. His muddled ending is the dementia that has slowly crept into his life. He isn't even the librarian, he just thinks he is. He also repeatedly puts on and takes off clothes just like here where he puts his coat on over his waistcoat for no real reason. The worst thing about it is that he knows it and can't control himself, which is making him cry even more.