Clarissa's Blog

Raphael Chirbes lived much of his life stuck between two social classes. He was mega intellectual and spent his life reading and writing very complex literature. He wrote for an ultra-educated minority. But at the same time, he felt extremely uncomfortable among the representatives of artsy intellectual classes.

Chirbes had been born in poverty and forever felt out of place outside of a working-class environment. And I don’t mean there was some vague passing discomfort. The guy would almost, or sometimes actually, pass out in the midst of one of his book readings where fancy people were present.

And that reaction made it impossible for him to be happy in working-class environments either. A gay guy who writes reviews of Michelin-star restaurants for a living and faints when he’s unhappy is not going to encounter much joy among working people.

I am interested in this because I feel something very similar. I don’t pass out, but I definitely find it the easiest to have a normal and enjoyable conversation with somebody who has just finished their shift at McDonald’s than a person who scoffs at McDonald’s food.