Chapter 32 of Tarr is here in full — 718 sentences across 144 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter XXXII
Chapter 32 of Tarr is here in full — 718 sentences across 144 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Otto Kreisler, when he had entered the Café Souchet, had been anxious. His eyes had picked out Soltyk in a delicate flurry. He had been afraid that he might escape him. Soltyk looked so securely bedded in life, and he wanted to wrench him out. He was not at all bad-tempered at the moment.
Chapter 32 of Tarr is here in full — 718 sentences across 144 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/143 · 5 reading units · Lines 1–5
These definitions explain words found in the current reading and keep every example grounded in its original sentence.
Oxford-style entry order: headword, part of speech, US IPA, concise definition, contextual example, and audio.
eagerly desirous
From this reading “Otto Kreisler, when he had entered the Café Souchet, had been anxious.”
deposited or arranged in horizontal layers
From this reading “Soltyk looked so securely bedded in life, and he wanted to wrench him out.”
exquisitely fine and subtle and pleasing; susceptible to injury
From this reading “His eyes had picked out Soltyk in a delicate flurry.”
a rapid active commotion
From this reading “His eyes had picked out Soltyk in a delicate flurry.”
United States violinist (born in Austria) (1875-1962)
From this reading “Otto Kreisler, when he had entered the Café Souchet, had been anxious.”
past form of “pick” — select carefully from a group
From this reading “His eyes had picked out Soltyk in a delicate flurry.”
in a secure manner; in a manner free from danger
From this reading “Soltyk looked so securely bedded in life, and he wanted to wrench him out.”
twist or pull violently or suddenly, especially so as to remove (something) from that to which it is attached or from where it originates
From this reading “Soltyk looked so securely bedded in life, and he wanted to wrench him out.”
English keeps certain words together, and knowing the pair is worth more than knowing each word alone. Every partnership below was counted across our whole published library, and earns its place by appearing far more often than two unrelated words of the same frequency would.
Shown as this reading writes them, with the form the library counts, what kind of pairing it is, and how often it occurs.
pick out, select, or choose from a number of alternatives
In this reading “His eyes had picked out Soltyk in a delicate flurry.”
In this reading “He was not at all bad-tempered at the moment.”
Every word in these five lines is listed here, and every one of them can be played on its own.
Dictionary details are shown only when verified; these are not licensed Oxford entries.
used before a singular noun to mean one of a group, when it is not a particular one
From this reading His eyes had picked out Soltyk in a delicate flurry.
filled with fear or apprehension
From this reading He had been afraid that he might escape him.
(quantifier) used with either mass or count nouns to indicate the whole number or amount of or every one of a class
From this reading He was not at all bad-tempered at the moment.
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading Soltyk looked so securely bedded in life, and he wanted to wrench him out.
eagerly desirous
From this reading Otto Kreisler, when he had entered the Café Souchet, had been anxious.
in or near a particular place or position
From this reading He was not at all bad-tempered at the moment.
annoyed and irritable
From this reading He was not at all bad-tempered at the moment.
deposited or arranged in horizontal layers
From this reading Soltyk looked so securely bedded in life, and he wanted to wrench him out.
the past participle of “be”
From this reading Otto Kreisler, when he had entered the Café Souchet, had been anxious.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Otto Kreisler, when he had entered the Café Souchet, had been anxious.
exquisitely fine and subtle and pleasing; susceptible to injury
From this reading His eyes had picked out Soltyk in a delicate flurry.
past form of “enter” — to come or go into
From this reading Otto Kreisler, when he had entered the Café Souchet, had been anxious.
the act of escaping physically
From this reading He had been afraid that he might escape him.
opinion or judgment
From this reading His eyes had picked out Soltyk in a delicate flurry.
a rapid active commotion
From this reading His eyes had picked out Soltyk in a delicate flurry.
the past form of “have”, used to form the past perfect
From this reading Otto Kreisler, when he had entered the Café Souchet, had been anxious.
a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading Otto Kreisler, when he had entered the Café Souchet, had been anxious.
the male already mentioned, as the object of a verb or preposition
From this reading He had been afraid that he might escape him.
belonging to a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned
From this reading His eyes had picked out Soltyk in a delicate flurry.
inside something, or within a place, period, or state
From this reading His eyes had picked out Soltyk in a delicate flurry.
United States violinist (born in Austria) (1875-1962)
From this reading Otto Kreisler, when he had entered the Café Souchet, had been anxious.
a characteristic state or mode of living
From this reading Soltyk looked so securely bedded in life, and he wanted to wrench him out.
past form of “look” — perceive with attention; direct one's gaze towards
From this reading Soltyk looked so securely bedded in life, and he wanted to wrench him out.
used to say something is possible but not certain
From this reading He had been afraid that he might escape him.
a particular point in time
From this reading He was not at all bad-tempered at the moment.
used to make a word, phrase, or sentence negative
From this reading He was not at all bad-tempered at the moment.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Otto Kreisler, when he had entered the Café Souchet, had been anxious.
not allowed to continue to bat or run
From this reading His eyes had picked out Soltyk in a delicate flurry.
past form of “pick” — select carefully from a group
From this reading His eyes had picked out Soltyk in a delicate flurry.
in a secure manner; in a manner free from danger
From this reading Soltyk looked so securely bedded in life, and he wanted to wrench him out.
for that reason; with the result that
From this reading Soltyk looked so securely bedded in life, and he wanted to wrench him out.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading His eyes had picked out Soltyk in a delicate flurry.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Otto Kreisler, when he had entered the Café Souchet, had been anxious.
used to introduce what somebody said, thought, or felt
From this reading He had been afraid that he might escape him.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading Otto Kreisler, when he had entered the Café Souchet, had been anxious.
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading Soltyk looked so securely bedded in life, and he wanted to wrench him out.
desired or wished for or sought
From this reading Soltyk looked so securely bedded in life, and he wanted to wrench him out.
the past form of “be” used with I, he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading He was not at all bad-tempered at the moment.
at the time that
From this reading Otto Kreisler, when he had entered the Café Souchet, had been anxious.
twist or pull violently or suddenly, especially so as to remove (something) from that to which it is attached or from where it originates
From this reading Soltyk looked so securely bedded in life, and he wanted to wrench him out.
Chapter 32 of Tarr by Wyndham Lewis holds 718 sentences, grouped into 144 reading sections of at most 5 sentences. The text is the source edition, unabridged, and the chapter records which sentences cover which part of the work so that nothing is dropped. Every word can be tapped for its pronunciation and dictionary entry.
Chapter 32 holds 718 sentences of Tarr, unabridged, divided into 144 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 32 of Tarr by Wyndham Lewis exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 718 sentences, grouped into 144 sections of at most 5 sentences so that a reader can take the chapter in steady, finishable pieces. The chapter also stores a coverage record mapping every one of its sentences to a part of the work, which is how the edition demonstrates that no line was dropped.
Work through the 144 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 144 sections in this chapter is short enough to read once, hear once, and then re-read with the vocabulary in view. Tapping a word plays it alone and opens its dictionary entry with IPA, part of speech and meaning, so the reader is never forced to guess a pronunciation from spelling. Working section by section keeps a long chapter from becoming an undifferentiated wall of text, which is the usual reason a reader abandons a work of this period.
Yes — every sentence and every individual word in chapter 32 can be played aloud in United States English.
Audio covers the whole chapter: any sentence can be played, and any single word within it can be played on its own. The voice uses United States English. For a work of this period that matters, because spelling is an unreliable guide to pronunciation for vocabulary that has fallen out of daily use, and a learner who guesses wrong tends to keep the error. Hearing the word in its own sentence, and then alone, settles it.
Common questions about reading Tarr by Wyndham Lewis on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 8072 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #58340 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #58340, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 600 minutes of reading across 1615 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through Tarr section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 38 chapters of Tarr to begin.
Each section holds 5 sentences; read it once through.
Play the section aloud, then tap any unfamiliar word for its entry.
Words and structures a reader meets early in Tarr, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
