Schadenfreude is a dark and powerful force, although, upon looking it up, it’s not quite what I thought it was. Malicious pleasure in the misfortunes of others, says Chambers. Mine’s not exactly like that – it’s better, and worse. Better in the sense that my pleasure isn’t malicious; it’s less about malice than amusement. But it’s worse in that it’s not all “others” I apply it to. Just my friends.
One of my closest friends has a Porsche Taycan, a reassuringly expensive electric sports car. To his distress, the heating has gone kaput. Now, I thought the whole point of spending six figures on a motor was that a) it would never break down and b) if it did, a quick phone call to a special number would be enough to get a helicopter full of German engineers dispatched to your home address to put things right. Maybe they’d abseil on to the drive if they can’t land in the garden.
