stayed in the thin

[HaraKiriBlade]

My father called be Babar and red me Jean de Brunhoff's story of the orphaned young elephant that runs off to the city and brings civilization back to fellow proboscideans. That rather moving story stayed in the thin but constant space between skin and blood where the ideas and moments you can never leave behind reside like a secret membrane.

1. stayed in the thin: ur... meaning... not much of it stayed?

2. constant space between skin and blood: indicating where?

- HKB

 

[oregeezer]

For the sense of the phrase try stayed in the thin space between the skin and the blood. Very thin indeed! If you peal the skin there will be blood. Thus the "ideas and moments" must be like a "secret membrane" to fit in no space.

 

[HaraKiriBlade]

I guess part of my question is answered, and I thank you for that, oregeezer. Now I get the metaphorical meaning but I'm not quite sure how it translates to the real life meaning.

My guess is that the story has left such an impact as to become a part of one's body, but it could mean something else. The space between skin and blood sounds rather superficial: if the author indeed meant to say that the story is deeply etched into her memory, I don't think the choice of her metaphor was the best.

Could anyone clarify this for me?

- HKB