JM: Somehow I skipped the part with the homophobic
"the much more normal Anton Pavlovich...." because my attention was
held by Van's first sentence about Will. Anyway, this "normality"
assessment, on the part of Van Veen, is not in character, is it?
[Cf. ." I feel cuddled in the embrace of puzzled Will
(he thought I was you) or in that of the much more normal Anton Pavlovich, who
was always passionately fond of long dark
hair."]