For the first time he realized that the man before him was not an aging father but a boy.

Ann Althouse occasionally does a group read of a book. The first time was The Great Gatsby. On this occasion, she is doing The Bonfire of the Vanities by Tom Wolfe. She cites an occasional passage and then her readers discuss in the comments section.

I have never been a keen reader of fiction. Indeed not much of a reader of fiction at all. I have never been a member of a book club. I read too many books simultaneously, virtually all non-fiction, and most in rather obscure or niche fields. I had never thought much of it before, but the internet is actually a good solution to that problem.

Though not a reader of much fiction and not a member of book clubs, I do enjoy Althouse's experiment. Today's post cites a passage from the book.

And in that moment Sherman made the terrible discovery that men make about their fathers sooner or later. For the first time he realized that the man before him was not an aging father but a boy, a boy much like himself, a boy who grew up and had a child of his own and, as best he could, out of a sense of duty and, perhaps, love, adopted a role called Being a Father so that his child would have something mythical and infinitely important: a Protector, who would keep a lid on all the chaotic and catastrophic possibilities of life. And now that boy, that good actor, had grown old and fragile and tired, wearier than ever at the thought of trying to hoist the Protector’s armor back onto his shoulders again, now, so far down the line.

Now that is a good passage to ponder. A fascinating mix of profundity and pseudo-profundity which none-the-less touches on a little discussed feature of the father-son relationship. We are all guardians of our community and play different roles as guardians at different times. Such an observation is not of the niggardly spirit of the times but that does not make it less true. All good men down the ages pick up their father's armor, or craft their own, and stand the line between hearth and barbarians.

Not only a good passage but also a good discussion in her comments section.