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Goodreads asked Ken Craft:

Who is your favorite fictional couple, and why?

Ken Craft I like Jake Barnes and Lady Brett Ashley, the dysfunctional drinkers in Hemingway's The Sun Also Rises, because they are good metaphors for so many "modern couples." They can but they can't. They love each other but they don't. And they try but they fail.

To me, that's realistic stuff as opposed to all the sweeping romance you find in so many "happy" couples found in books. Can we replace Tolstoy's "All happy families are alike..." with "All happy couples are alike..."? If so, "All unhappy couples are unhappy in their own way."

I also like the end note Jake and Brett finish on. It's this memorable line: "Isn't it pretty to think so?" I've often thought that MANY things in life come down to that summation. Pretty to think so, but just not the case.

More Answered Questions

Alan

Alan asked Ken Craft:

Couldn't comment on yr review of Shakespeare by J Shapiro? Great summary-commentary. My favorite book on Shakesp (and I've read dozens, my specialty for decades) is James Shapiro's "1599."

A Goodreads user

A Goodreads user asked Ken Craft:

Hi there! I just saw ur comment for Zbigniew Herbert's collected poems published by Ecco Press. Well I'm looking for a poem called 'The Seventh Angel'. I have read Milosz's version of the poem, but I need to check out Valles's translation of this poem. The problem is, due to sanctions, I don't have access to the collected poems published by Ecco. Do u think it's possible for u to send me Alissa Valles's translation?

Ted

Ted asked Ken Craft:

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