Crisp, Quentin S. - Erith
He needs to go to the Erith office in order to sort his housing allowance.
The train may well stop there, maybe the bus. Neither schedule lists Erith.
Oh, yes, he does ask. Answers are vague.
Why can’t he simply visit his own council branch? Procedure. One follows procedure. Period.
A flow of journeys, along with varying perceptions of the route. The narrator’s view, filtering his own anxieties with the theatrical dress he overlays on Erith itself.
For me, Mr. Crisp can be daunting, and my method has always been to simply read. Read, keep turning pages until I match step with his rhythm.
Now and then you may feel you are in Aickman territory. You are not. Crisp’s voice is distinctive.
Erith shifts from anxious, to comical, to suppressed frustration with each page.