Love Your Enemies Read Online Free PDF

‘These places aren’t designed with prams in mind.’
    Sammy Jo smiled. ‘Next time I’ll remember that and leave the baby on the bus.’
    He grinned. ‘I didn’t mean any offence. Leave the pram here by the till and I’ll keep an eye on the baby while you browse.’
    Sammy Jo let go of the pram and strolled around the shop. After several minutes she returned to the assistant and said, ‘If I keep an eye on the baby, would you mind finding copies of these books for me?’
    She handed him her piece of paper which he took from her and perused. He smiled – ‘No problem’ – and quickly located the volumes in question. She held the three thin books in her hands and looked guiltily at the prices. The assistant noticed her concern. He said, ‘Specialist books are expensive on the whole, but I think you’ll find that those are quite reasonable. Russell was a bit of a popularist – excluding his works on mathematical logic, of course – so his more general works are very reasonably priced. The Descartes is a fraction more expensive, but the Sartre isn’t too bad. That’s fiction though, The Age of Reason , it’s a great book.’
    Sammy Jo smiled at the assistant. He seemed enthusiastic and well read. She said, ‘One day I hope to be as well informed as you are. Which book do you think I should read first?’
    He shrugged. ‘It depends on what you’re after. If I were you I’d read The Age of Reason first. It’s good to introduce yourself to ideas in an informal sort of way. Then the ideas just pop into your head and it’s no strain to pick them up.’
    Sammy Jo looked at the synopsis on the back of the Penguin paperback. ‘It looks a bit heavy going.’
    The assistant smiled sympathetically. ‘You haven’t bought it yet. You could always change your mind.’
    Sammy Jo looked at him quizzically. ‘Do you think I should?’
    He chuckled, ‘I’m playing the devil’s advocate. The story is about free will, about a man’s search for personal freedom. You should use your free will to decide whether you really want to buy it or not. If you choose to buy it then you will have made a commitment to the book. In fact you will have involved yourself in the book’s fundamental dilemmas.’
    His face glowed as he explained this to her. His green eyes shone and he seemed excited. Sammy Jo handed him the three books and said, ‘All right, I’ll have them. I’ll read the …’ she paused. ‘Why are all these names so hard to pronounce?’
    He took the books and put them into a bag. ‘Say the word “start”.’
    Sammy Jo repeated after him, ‘Start.’
    ‘Then take out the first letter t so it’s “sart”.’
    She copied him: ‘Sart.’
    ‘Then say the word “rough”.’
    She smiled. ‘Rough.’
    ‘But forget about the “ugh” part and just say “ro”. Then altogether it’s “Sartre”. Obviously that’s the simple English pronunciation, but people will know who you mean.’
    Sammy Jo said the name out loud to him a few times and then handed him some of her child benefit money. She said, ‘I’m going to start the Sartre on the bus home. I hope I enjoy it.’
    He finished wrapping up her books and handed them over to her. ‘That’s entirely up to you.’
    She grinned. ‘That’s a joke, right?’
    When Sammy Jo got home she changed and fed the baby and then made herself a sandwich and sat down on the sofa to start Chapter Two of The Age of Reason . Her main thoughts about its central character, Mathieu, were that she was glad that he wasn’t looking after her baby. He didn’t seem responsible enough. When the telephone rang she told the man on the line these thoughts. She said, ‘Ideas are all right, but ideas can’t guide your life, it isn’t practical or realistic.’
    He laughed. ‘So what do you think should be man’s main motivation? The acquisition of food? Making cups of tea?’
    She raised her eyebrows – fully cognizant of his cynicism – and stared out of the window.