.
PARTISAN REVIEW
Mr. Brickner in his book,
My
Second Twenty Y ears: An Unexpected
Life,
(Basic Books), has trans–
formed pain into art in a tone so
clinically matter of fact that one is
caught with one's emotions down,
unprepared, surprised by the odd
and powerful knockout that has
just been delivered.
Although the author may
sometimes fall in his apartment,
and lie on the floor helpless, wait–
ing, "as calmly as if I were read–
ing, " for the police to show up and
help him back into his wheelchair,
although he can never take a walk
for a paper, never take a walk for a
breath of fresh air, never walk
against the light, we feel no sorrier
for him, a gifted, funny, sexy, un–
careless man, than we do for our–
selves-for the accidents that will
have happened to all of us ifwe live
long enough and decide that we
are life prone enough, and ardent
enough to continue living.
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