My first book discussion - YIPPEE!!

I've only read to page 3 so far, but I must say that the discussion that I've read is fascinating. So many things that I'd not thought of - I love having all the different views to bring new ideas & possibilities to the surface.

As I read, I thought Antoine was using Happy Days as an escape from reality. When living there, he was able to avoid all the stresses and responsibilities of daily life that the rest of the world deals with all the time: bills, shopping, cooking, cleaning, family, errands, work, car maintenance, etc. He was able to avoid everything for the price of room & board.

I could see him as a man trying to escape his life after being disillusioned with life. Most specifically I thought him disillusioned with his marriage & family due to his lack of investment in them. It's as if he never invested himself fully in anything, so he got nothing out of it - a "reap what you sow" sort of thing.

I've known people who refuse to do anything unless they can do it perfectly. They refuse to try to avoid failure. I wonder if Antoine was a bit like this

Perhaps it was depression, as was mentioned early on. Or maybe calling it an experiment was a fancy label for his laziness.

Welcome to ONBC, thatgirl! We are glad you are joining us! It has been a great discussion so far. I always learn so much from everyone who participates!

I thought Antoine was disillusioned and trying to escape too but yet he seems to be still interested in life, although in a more objective, unfeeling sort of way. He is certainly a hard fellow to peg.

Out of curiosity, I looked up the meaning of the name Antoine --> Anthony, and found this:

Other famous bearers include the 3rd-century Saint Anthony the Abbot, a hermit from Egypt who founded monasticism.

The word monasticism is found to be in a Catholic Dictionary, meaning the act of dwelling alone.

The part about still being interested in life - in a clinical way - is what I think too. I didn't express that part when I was posting before.

Makes sense then, that Antoine was chosen for the name. Very interesting.

What I posted doesn't sound like it did in my head when I first posted it.

What I meant was - It makes sense, then, that the name Antoine was chosen - if that's why it was chosen. Very interesting.

thatgirl, it made perfect sense to me!

Made sense to me, too, That Girl. And welcome to the discussion.

Depputante....good find on the origin of Antoine.

In the section of the Magic show, (p.65, bottom) he says he's always been used as a scapegoat.

Hmmm. Good catch, Depputante!