… pull-out Carlyle couch … This may well have been a Carlyle copy.
… Svengali … A lot has been written about Svengali, but few are prepared to believe that he ran a Kosher dairy restaurant in Minsk.
… What did St. Louis look like? … He imagined a different city each time he thought of the place.
… strange and alien St. Louis … Well … maybe, but pedestrian.
Some of these commentaries may not be wholly reliable.