DIANA: “Would you say that this is a symbolist story or am I reading too much into it?”

JEFF: “I think it’s a travel story more than anything else. Myles is a character from other things I’ve written. He’s lost in Ireland, the first stop on his European tour that ultimately leads him to the Holy Land. As I wrote this story I was amused to learn that “Mackerel,” in addition to being the name of the fish at the center of the action, also means, many. If there is a symbol in this story, I think that would have to be it. As Moritz says, “you have to drop your anchor.” Following that advice, everyone at the pier searches for a symbol to rally around and associate with. Moritz has Sophie, Jens looks forward to cooking, Myles tries to avoid the question and Jasper falls asleep trying to remember all the details of his story about the deceased Swede.  For that matter I knew that Jasper had to have the last say. He seems to exist in a sort of time warp. When he says his last line, I think he’s really sitting there with a view of all the many things he’s ever thought about before….”