Book: History of Mr Polly by H.G. Wells

This book is on John Carey's 50 books of 20th century, and is mentioned in E.M. Forster's Aspects of the Novel. This is a story about an ordinary man searching for the meaning of life. Before the age of 37, he lived the most ordinary life and dreamed the idealistic dreams. After a mid-life crisis, he left everything behind and started traveling, eventually finding his place in the world.

The traveling part of the story reminds me of other stories of lone traveler such as Herman Hesse's Knulp and Siddhartha. Although I like the way Wells tells the story for most of the book, I don't like the part concerning the travel. Maybe it is too romantic and not realistic as other parts. I am also reminded of Alice Walker's Color Purple when the main character finally comes to peace with life. However, this book did little to inspire me.

I am returning to Graham Greene. He's like an old friend. He has almost never failed me.

He was walking slowly, after his habit, and thinking discursively. (p.184)

The reality of the case arched over him like the vault of the sky, as plain as the sweet blue heaven above and the wide spread of hill and valley about him. Man comes into life to seek and find his sufficient beauty, to serve it, to win and increase it, to fight for it, to face anything and dare anything for it, counting death as nothing so long as the dying eyes still turn to it. And fear and dullness and indolence and appetite, which, indeed, are no more than fear's three crippled brothers, who make ambushes and creep by night, are against him, to delay him, to hold him off, to hamper and beguile and kill him in that quest. He had but to lift his eyes to see all that, as much as part of his world as the driving clouds and the bending grass; but he kept himself downcast, a grumbling, inglorious, dirty, fattish little tramp, full of dreams and quivering excuses. // "Why the hell was I ever born?" he said, with the truth almost winning him. (p.188)

I'm going to absquatulate. (p.212)

-- The History of Mr Polly by H.G. Wells