July 1999

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Jonathan is a procrastinator - he constantly takes notes on life around him but he can't quite get started on assembling it to form his thesis. Small everyday tasks require large effort on his part to get through, such as shopping at the only store in the village. Conquering the initially daunting ritual of how to say goodbye after making his purchases is a major achievement for Jonathan and he's very pleased to work out that to indicate that he is going to take his leave he should say "So, so."

I really enjoyed getting a feel for life in a remote place like the Faroes. One illustration of the unfamiliar surroundings in which Jonathan finds himself is in what happens when he discovers his toilet is not flushing properly. After trying to ignore the problem Jonathan finally has to seek help. His neighbour immediately knows what the problem is - the septic tank is full and needs emptying. He helps Jonathan to uncover the pit, lends him a wheelbarrow and other tools, then leaves Jonathan to take care of business. This involves using a stick to stir the contents of the pit, rendered more moveable by the addition of water from a hose, to loosen them before shovelling the stuff into the wheelbarrow for transportation to the harbour where the load is tipped over the seawall. Jonathan resents the unhelpful crowd which steadily builds to observe him at his labours and it isn't until he has thoroughly washed himself later that he can feel a sense of achievement in fixing his problem himself.

As my endorsement of this book, I'll just say that it made me want to have the chance to live in another country for a year and see how well I cope!