I can remember pretty distinctly. I would have been about 6 or 7 and either on a trip to the local library or perhaps the school library, at which my mother worked; she suggested I take one home. It was Tintin in Tibet. Something about the story really grabbed me; what I remember most though was the feeling of empathy with the yeti, particularly at the end. I remember that Red Sea Sharks was next, then America, and that I was desperate to read Flight 714 but it was always checked out. I remember being disappointed by the Castafiore Emerald.... it was just a stupid magpie??? and having discussions with my schoolmates about it.
Then we moved overseas, to an island in the Pacific (without me having ever got my hands on Flight 714). My friends went to town for school but I was home schooled; there was, however, access to a library (we lived on the campus of a high school). It had an ancient collection of Asterix and Tintin and I went through everything they had several times over. I remember that exasperatingly they had only one of several of the two-parters - they had Destination but not Explorers; they had Rackham but not Secret; they had Crystal Balls but not Prisoners. But I lapped it up. There was something about it that was always familiar. The Karaboudjan was just like the rusty hulks that came into town; it was easy to imagine stowing away on one and ending up on the other side of the world. I was in an unfamiliar place (although it didn't take too long to be familiar), and I loved seeing how Tintin always adapted in his forthright and honest manner wherever he went.
Those editions were all musty from the tropical weather. The smell and heat is very evocative to me of settling down to read a Tintin. I have a very dogeared copy of the Black Island which was given to me on my 8th birthday which retained some of its own must over the years. When summer comes and the temperature rises, when it's just rained and the warmth of the sun makes the air pungent, I have an irrestistable urge to pull it off the shelf. |