You know, she was very chic, but she was very filled with ennui, you know.

The death watch for Fidel Castro is something that only Gabriel Garcia Marquez could get right. His novel Autumn of the Patriarch captures perfectly the moral squalor, political paralysis, and savage ennui that enshrouds a society awaiting the death of a long term dictator.

I have sometimes compared this psychological ennui to my own post prison situation for years I yearned for freedom, but, when finally released, I had to make decisions all the time. Confronted suddenly with many options every day, one starts to feel a headache, and sometimes unconsciously wants to return to prison.