“I tried to give advice, I really did. Nothing too complicated. Like, Stop hollering at strange girls on the street, and don’t bring up the Beyonder any more than necessary. Did he listen? Of course not! Trying to talk sense to Oscar about girls was like trying to throw rocks at Unus the Untouchable. Dude was impenetrable. He’d hear me out and then shrug. Nothing else has any efficacy, I might as well be myself.” –Junot Diaz, The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao, 2007 “NEVER HAVE I HEARD SUCH WORDS…SENSED SUCH COURAGE…OR KNOWN THIS STRANGE FEELING…THIS NEW EMOTION…! THERE … Continue reading Great Moments in Literature

“It was all I could think of to say. I turned away from this woman and went to the bathroom, where I ran hot water over my hands, which is something I like to do in the colder months, it just makes me feel a little bit better. Then I touched my face with my warmed hands. It calms me down, it’s just this very normal thing that I do.” –Rivka Galchen, Atmospheric Disturbances, 2008 “ON THE SURFACE, THIS MAY SEEM TO BE A SUPER-HERO ACTION THRILLER! BUT, IF YOU PROBE DOWN DEEP, IF YOU ANALYZE EACH SUBTLE NUANCE, IF … Continue reading Great Moments in Literature

“The thing about Minette was that she was no kid, that she was–how else to put it–a woman, a strapping woman with presence; clear-eyed, mature, with a red-brown saddle of freckles across the bridge of her nose; Matty thinking, Does it still just come down to that? Eyes and vibes and freckles across a strongly defined nose? Yes and no, yes and no, but, yeah, yes, of course, until the deathbed; it’s the visual triggers that kick off the daydreaming.” –Richard Price, Lush Life, 2008 “HE SWIMS…AND THE THOUGHTS THAT TRAIL HIM–PAST BATTLES FORMING PRESENT MEMORIES–THESE THOUGHTS ENLARGE LIKE BALLOONS … Continue reading Great Moments in Literature

“Sunrise–generally a rural event, in cities a mere abstraction–is still an hour and a half away. The city’s appetite for Saturday work is robust. At six o’clock, the Euston Road is in full throat. Now occasional motorbikes soar above the ensemble, whining like busy wood saws. Also about this time come the first choruses of police sirens, rising and falling in Doppler shifts: it’s no longer too early for bad deeds. Finally she rolls over to face him. This side of the human form exhales a communicative warmth. As they kiss he imagines the green eyes seeking out his own. … Continue reading Great Moments in Literature