We Are All Tourists In History, And

We Don't Simply Read Books. We Become Them.

To Choose A Writer For A Friend Is Like Palling Around With Your Cardiologist, Who Might Be Musing As You Talk To Him That You Are A Sinking Man. A Writer's Love For Another Writer Is Never Quite Free Of Malice. He May Enjoy Discussing Your Failures Even More Than You Do. He Probably Sees You As Tragic, Like His Characters - Or Unworthy Of Tragedy, Which Is Worse.

Either A Writer Doesn't Want To Talk About His Work, Or He Talks About It More Than You Want.

I Feel About Lending A Book The Way Most Fathers Feel About Their Daughters Living With A Man Out Of Wedlock.

Ruefulness Is One Of The Classical Tones Of American Fiction. It Fosters A Native, Deglamorized Form Of Anxiety.