This aspect is made clearer when the narrator says: "the life of Bombay which had been Baumgartner's life for thirty years now--or, rather, the setting for his life; he had never actually entered it, never quite captured it; damply, odorously, cacophonously palpable as it was, it had been elusive still" (214; my emphasis).
To hold the sun''s spears in it''s hands To thunder provide a home Yet drift aimlessly over mountain top Lie morose on invisible bed Clasp damply indented coastlines Betroth that rivers and streams are fed So, gather clouds!
This meant that I was not in a position to say "I told you so" as we damply awaited the start on the Central Motorway which, in turn, no doubt saved me from a considerably worse injury than a mere sprained ankle.
Instead, he soon ousted the more experienced Martyn Roberts and finished the season having made 17 appearances - a rare bright spark in an otherwise damply smouldering campaign for the Scarlets.