tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8987400789130903662.post3332871555437807647..comments2022-10-07T19:17:35.929-04:00Comments on Reading Richard Rohmer: Why an Epilogue?… and other questionsBrian Busbyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04120341319506205062noreply@blogger.comBlogger1125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8987400789130903662.post-17460767525304621232014-08-06T01:35:52.849-04:002014-08-06T01:35:52.849-04:00Only Rohmer could hang a "what if" thril...Only Rohmer could hang a "what if" thriller on a "what if" that wouldn't have made the slightest bit of difference. What if Rohmer hadn't spotted Rommel's car? (Rommel might have lived.) And what if he had? (He might of tried to make a deal with the allies.) But what happened instead? (Kluge made the offer.) And how was history changed? (Not a all. It was rejected. And it's not like the Allies would have accepted the offer if Rommel had made it, just because he had such a winning personality.) Rommel's injuries change nothing. And Kluge's offer changes nothing. It's speculative history where the speculation doesn't lead anywhere.<br /><br />Like the typical Rohmer "thriller" without anything remotely resembling a thrill. No, that's not fair. All his books do is resemble thrillers. It makes me think about that line from The Squire of Gothos:<br /><br />"You should taste his food. Straw would taste better than his meat, and water a hundred times better than his brandy - nothing has any taste at all." Chris Kellyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17925214622987881225noreply@blogger.com