People
A bibliophile of little means is likely to suffer often. Books don’t slip from his hands but fly past him through the air, high as birds, high as prices.
— Pablo Neruda
Behind the line May contain spoilers.
Our reading
An editorial interpretation.
Neruda captures the particular frustration of loving books without enough money to buy them, imagining desired volumes as things that soar out of reach rather than simply sit on a shelf. The comparison to birds and to prices links longing and cost in one vivid, airborne image.
Context reviewed