Theywerethecommasinmychildhood, the pauses that toldmelifeis notsavoredinpre-measuredincrements, butin the sumofdailyrituals and smallpleasureswecasuallysharewithloved ones.
Some of his childhood, peacetime memories were perhaps as rare as his wartime ones: catching thrushes by hand in the rocky fields, hand-stitching his own shoes, setting up a chimney-sweep business in Nogent-sur-Marne.