At 19, at university in Ottawa, On the Road filled Grant with such a wild spirit that he jumped on a bus to Toronto to look up an old high-school acquaintance, which he now finds embarrassing. Rereading it 30 years later, around when the film came out, disappointed him.
Where it appears 1
Connections
Told by
Mentions
More stories from this episode
- Internet cafe twice a week in Budapest
In 16 years in Budapest Grant never had home internet; he checked email at a cafe for an hour twice a week. Back in Canada he binged YouTube book reviews, thought 'I can do that', and only…
- Seeing Vonnegut speak in Toronto
In the 1990s Grant saw Kurt Vonnegut speak in Toronto: animated and full of warmth. Vonnegut said when his wife and daughter took up meditation he replied that he reads, which is his…
- The fishing interlude grew on him
When young, Grant was bothered by the slow trout-fishing section between the Paris carousing and the Pamplona bull-running in The Sun Also Rises. Years later it is his favourite part…
- Book club hated his generous scores
In a pandemic book club scoring out of nine, Tamir gave high scores to books he disliked because the author had done a good job. Members hated it as a 'good effort ribbon'; he argued a book…
- A hundred copies of his collection
Grant planned his story collection as a paid Patreon reward but printed 100 copies, far too many, so he mails one to anyone who joins his Patreon.
- Eight years of aikido in Budapest
Grant trained aikido for eight years in Budapest, plus other arts. Even a forward roll is clumsy at 24; a basic boxing jab turns out complicated. Seeing beginners after a year, and advanced…