Mother Night Chapter 38 Summary

Ah, Sweet Mystery of Life…

  • Resi begs Campbell to give her a reason to live. Any reason. If not for love, then for what?
  • Shoes?
  • That chair?
  • Travel?
  • Belly button lint?
  • TELL ME.
  • Campbell says nothing, and then they all get raided.
  • The head of the raid is a red-blooded American with red-blooded snark.
  • This American jibes Jones, whose mind, Campbell describes, is like a gear-clock with certain teeth filed off. Translation: Jones cherry-picks what to believe and ignores facts that don't fit into his fantasy.
  • Exhibit A: In addition to Jews, Jones hates blacks and Catholics. His two companions are a black man and a Catholic would-be priest.
  • How? Selective memory?
  • Campbell takes a moment to pat himself on the back: he's never lied to himself. He's been a butt, but he's always owned up to it.