Escape of or should I say from "The Scapegoat"

With great intentions today of finishing du Maurier's tragic and somewhat depressing novel, The Scapegoat, I strolled over to the Oxfam Bookstore where I volunteer this morning with the book in tow. Sadly or happily (I haven't quite decided yet which) after cashing out our first customer of the day and settling at the till with my cup of coffee, I realized my book had disappeared. I looked around for it, beside the register and in the drawer where I normally lay the book I'm reading while helping a customer, then realized I must have haphazardly dropped it along with the books he purchased in our first customer's bag. Oops. And people look at me funny when I talk of renaming my blog "The Misadventures of Margaret." [smile]

Part of me found misplacing the book I was so close to finishing slightly dissettling. I looked briefly to see if we had a copy in the store I could borrow to finish, but sadly no. Then I began to think about how the story had taken a slightly depressing turn in the last few chapters. The life of the protagonist was unravelling... a missing daughter, a pregnant wife who fell from the chateau's second story window, finding out he was responsible for the death of his sister's fiance. Maybe losing the book was actually a good thing. Sure I won't know how the story ends originally, but I don't think it will end happily and I would like to think that the problems were worked out in the end and a new, happier, guileless character emerged.

The other exciting avenue of imagining is what the man will think when he finds the stowaway among his parcels. I think if the situation were reversed I'd feel particularly drawn to the book that seemed to have chosen me. Perhaps he'll find it an interesting read. I hope he won't try to return it... sort of would ruin my fantasy of the book's travels.

Think I'm silly for spouting on and on about this if you must, but I do have one other detail to add. Not an hour later, a woman came by to donate some books. On top of the pile she handed me was The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy. Why is this significant? Well, when I was choosing the book that escaped, The Hitchhiker's Guide was among the books I was choosing from. It kinda feels like that's the book I should have been reading all along. I'll let you know what I think when I've finished.

Just, Margaret