Old love revisited

I read Johannes Mario Simmel's "Es muss nicht immer Kaviar sein" (It Doesn't Always Have to Be Caviar) for the first time when I was about 14.
Simmel was a mass producer of best sellers always using the same ingredients (sex, politcal intrigue), and certainly not one of the greatest authors of the German tongue. The German-writing Grisham of the 60's and 70's, I'd say.
But I've always loved this one book, which is very different from the rest, and especially the protagonist, Thomas Lieven.
The copy I used to possess has either disintegrated or was lost, so I ordered a new one for a much-awaited re-read. It arrived today, and I had of course to start immediately.
The writing is, well... rather sub-par. But the figure of Thomas Lieven is still fabulous, and I realized only now how much I've always adored him. Almost as much as Lord Peter Wimsey. They're kind of brothers in spirit - pacifists at heart, aesthetes, lovers of culture and good manners who strive to maintain their humanity even at the worst of times.
It's a funny feeling, rediscovering an idol about whose idol-ness I'd forgotten.

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