In his books, the narrator and the characters, regardless of education or social background, are liable to set off on conceptual excursions, and the difficulty for the translator, for this one, anyway, is following the train of thought, because it moves so quickly and it’s so playful. It’s a bit like watching a brilliant, mischievous mathematician at the blackboard, working through a proof: he’s skipping the “obvious” steps and at some point he may start pulling your leg.