“Most nights Claire disappeared into the crafts room, or had never come out of it in the morning. Technically no crafts emerged from this part of the house. We named it once with the hope that someone, sometime–a future child of ours, perhaps–would go in there and be productive, make something pretty or useful or interesting. Such were our speculations for the children we might have. They would fashion objects that glowed or spoke, and we would sit in wonder as we held their tremendous work in our hands. Our children would solve some fundamental boredom we could not escape, … Continue reading Great Moments in Literature

“The smoke alarm went off in the hallway upstairs, either to let us know the battery had just died or because the house was on fire. We finished our lunch in silence.” –Don DeLillo, White Noise, 1985 “SETTING SUNLIGHT SLICES SHARPLY THROUGH THE DRY NOVEMBER AIR, BUT CANNOT CUT ITS CHILL. RUSH HOUR THRONGS CROWDING THE STREETS PULL THEIR COATS TIGHTER AGAINST THIS FIRST TOUCH OF APPROACHING WINTER…YET ONE MAN, LOOMING HIGH ABOVE THEM ALL, CASUALLY SHRUGS AWAY THE COLD…AS ALWAYS, HE KNOWS THE COMING DARKNESS WILL BRING A NEED FOR HIM–AND, AS ALWAYS, HE IS GRIMLY PREPARED–FOR HE IS … Continue reading Great Moments in Literature

“I come to my journal as a Catholick to a confessor. My bruises insist these extraordinary past five hours were not a sickbed vision conjured by my Ailment, but real events. I shall describe what befell me this day, steering as close to the facts as possible.” –David Mitchell, Cloud Atlas, 2004 “HE STRIDES INTO THE THREATENING DARKNESS…AND NEITHER THE DARKNESS NOR THE CHAOS THAT IT CAUSES KEEPS HIM FROM THIS MIDNIGHT STALKING! THE FIRST FULL MOON OF WINTER PRESIDES OVER THE CHINESE NEW YEAR CELEBRATION. FIRECRACKERS SHATTER THE DARKNESS, EXORCISING THE EVIL SPIRITS OF THE PAST YEAR. AND YET, … Continue reading Great Moments in Literature

“Anyway, the fascinating thing was that I read in National Geographic that there are more people alive now than have died in all of human history. In other words, if everyone wanted to play Hamlet at once, they couldn’t, because there aren’t enough skulls!” –Jonathan Safran Foer, Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close, 2005 “GUESS I’M JEST GONNA HAFTA SNEAK UP BEHIND ‘IM WHILE HIS BACK IS TURNED–AN’ CLOBBER ‘IM A GOOD ONE! THIS SORT’A MOVE AINT EXAC’LY KOSHER IN THE SUPER-HERO’S HANDBOOK–BUT I CAN TURN IN MY GOOD CONDUCT MEDAL—AFTER I SAVE THE FLIPPIN’ WORLD!” –Len Wein, MARVEL FEATURE, Vol. … Continue reading Great Moments in Literature

“I snuck in between some boats that were being repaired and lit a cigarette; I had no idea what time it was, but I felt relaxed. From my hideout I could watch her at my leisure, without risk: she seemed terribly sad, like a tree that had suddenly sprouted from the seawall, a mystery of nature. And yet, when some precise spring-loaded mechanism set her in motion again, that impression disappeared, leaving only a trace like a photo and one thing for sure: solitude.” –Roberto Bolaño (as translated by Chris Andrews), The Skating Rink, 1993 “NEXT, AMID SNOW-PEAKED GRANDEUR: A … Continue reading Great Moments in Literature