Dear Cyndy,

Thank you for your letter, which I answer again right away, -
"umgehend" as the Germans say, - I can find no English equivalent,
even in the dictionary, and given the Internet, "by return mail" 
has lost its meaning.

First of all, my apologies for not responding to your roof inquiries.
Two years ago, I tried to learn about metal roofing by talking to
neighbors and contractors and by means of Internet searches.  The
information that you were given about metal roofs, I believe is
incorrect. In Southwest Virginia, at least, metal roofs are commonly
installed over existing asphalt shingles. Framing which is adequate
for an asphalt roof is sufficient.  No specific framing repairs are
required. I'm no roofing historian, but I remember that when we came
to Konnarock 71 years ago, all local roofs were of small, approximately
8 inch by 12 inch metal shingles, applied to the sheathing boards much
like modern asphalt shingles which replaced metal shingles in this part
of the country after the War. The earlier metal shingles I believe were
galvanized, subject to rust if not regularly painted. Contemporary sheet
metal roofs are the consequence of industrial innovation. They are made
in large sheets or rolls of stainless metal, require no painting, and
are sealed against water by steeply angled overlaps. Accordingly, all
the metal roofs I have observed have small ridges running from the
ridge to the eaves at distances equal to the width of the material. This
technique of application is the basis of a very serious objection. I
don't see how metal roofs can be efficiently repaired. I can't visualize
how the lowermost sheet of a metal roof, i.e. that which is first laid
down, can be replaced without removing the entire roof, unlike a roof of
asphalt shingles which can be patched. Then there are other issues:
sound, rain dripping on an asphalt roof is muffled; insulation: asphalt
roofs are poor conductors of heat. Metal roofs, as is to be expected,
are sold in different price ranges, and what you get may or may not be
what you pay for. Finally, I'm under the impression that installation of
metal roofs is at least semi-specialized, and often a quasi-franchised
operation. Your carpenter's advice may reflect the circumstance that
she is "out of the loop". Often, the installers are in fact agents of
the manufacturers and may be committed to the installation of only one
"brand" of roof, not necessarily optimal for the customer. My conclusion
was to have our roof in Konnarock replaced with asphalt shingles, and so
far, I have no regrets. As for your situation, with an asphalt roof only
two years old, replacement with metal makes no sense to me at all. Copper,
as I understand it, was chosen in years past for its corrosion resistance
and has been conclusively superseded by stainless steel.  In the past 10
years, the price of copper has sky-rocketed, and its use nowadays, as
commonly on Nantucket, I consider an historical affectation, - but I may
be very much in error about this as about so many other matters about
which a little knowledge can be a dangerous thing.

Thank you for your continuing interest in my novel. The satire is, of
course, deliberate and may even be overdone. For the time being at least,
I've left chapter 41 behind, and am now pressing on with chapter 42, 
asking myself whether I shouldn't instead be spending my time putting
in order the workshop, the laundry room, the boiler room, the garage in
the basement, whether I shouldn't be making some effort to clear the
overgrown hillsides, ... but then I know from experience, as soon as I
immerse myself in those practical tasks, I start asking myself, shouldn't
I be working on my writing ...

In chapter 42, as of this moment, I have Katenus, Mengs and Magus installed
in the bugged jury conference room in the police station on The Island,
Katenus the victium of his fellow islanders who cannot stomach his
unconventional style, his generosity, his grandeur. Magus, a voluntary
prisoner as it were, in consequnece of his admiration for and loyalty to
Katenus, and Mengs in turn a voluntary prisoner because he will not abandon
Magus. For Katenus, paradoxically, the situation is a dream come true,
since he finally has a captive audience for the "philosophical" discoveries
or inventions to which he has devoted his life. The jail, it turns out,
is a workable substitute for the university.

My present plan is to devote as many pages as are required for an
informal exposition of epistemology, ethics and esthetics, with some
ancillary reflections about logic and metaphysics, indifferent to the
ennui or irritation of the hypothetical reader. (Is it permissible even
to suggest that Plato's dialogues might serve as a model?) Once the
exposition of abstractions is complete, - or rather, once I've finished
clearing the shelves of my mind of their pretentions, I'll turn to
practical matters, considering how the three prisoners accommodate to
each other in that single room, how the stresses of togetherness break
the bonds of loyalty. I will explore the feelings and actions of the
women affected and hence involved: Elly, Katenus' "housekeeper", and
Charlotte, Magus' girl friend. Their turn will come.  Susanna, the
concert pianist and Mengs' "significant other", died, as you may or
may not know, some chapters ago, and has not been replaced.  My plan
is to try to intercalate the theoretical sections into the epic
narrative, and by this means to make the presentations of abstract
theories less unpalatable to the hypothetical reader. I'll keep you
informed, but in the immediate future at least, I can't promise to
keep you entertained.

Stay well and give my best to Ned.
Jochen