Maurice Bailey was ill in childhood, and he spent a great deal of time alone. He grew up with a low opinion of himself; he avoided parties and dates. When he did find himself on a date, he forgot his wallet; he was mortified to ask for money. Although one part of Maurice was committed to a conventional understanding of success, another part had eccentricities. On some level, Maurice understood that his life was boring. He had an interest in flight and in travel by sea. His wife, Maralyn, shared his interest; because the two were childless by choice, they had some options. They talked each other into a crazy plan: they left their dull British stage set and began sailing toward New Zealand in a small boat. Here we get to the present tense action. All is well, until it isn't. A bloodied whale collides with the boat. A shipwreck seems inevitable. Maurice and Maralyn jump onto a raft--and Maurice starts to prepare himself for death. (Maralyn--more optimistic--thinks that a rescue...
Thinking about Apu, I'm led to recall Charles Dickens. Dickens invented Fagin, a famously antisemitic caricature in "Oliver Twist." Then, confronted with the truth of what he had made, Dickens did a 180. It's widely believed that Riah--the saintly Jewish character in Dickens's final novel--is a kind of "apology" for Fagin. We can still read "Oliver Twist" while wishing that a bit more thought had gone into the recipe. The story of Apu is complicated and lengthy. Writers of "The Simpsons" have been weirdly defensive about their error. One notably said, "This is an era in which people like to pretend to be offended." Another described Hari Kondabolu's work as vicious and small-minded. It does not seem difficult to concede, "Times change. There is a world of difference between 1990 and 2015. We're flawed, we've tried to grow up. End of story." From what I've read, it's Hank Azaria, the actor, who ...