“I do not know if it has ever been noted before that one of the main characteristics of life is discreteness. Unless a film of flesh envelopes us, we die. Man exists only insofar as he is separated from his surroundings. The cranium is a space-traveler's helmet. Stay inside or you perish. Death is divestment, death is communion. It may be wonderful to mix with the landscape, but to do so is the end of the tender ego.”
― Pnin
― Pnin
“No, it is impossible; it is impossible to convey the life-sensation of any given epoch of one’s existence--that which makes its truth, its meaning--its subtle and penetrating essence. It is impossible. We live, as we dream--alone.”
― Heart of Darkness
― Heart of Darkness
“It is only shallow people who do not judge by appearances. The true mystery of the world is the visible, not the invisible....”
― The Picture of Dorian Gray
― The Picture of Dorian Gray
Alexander’s 2025 Year in Books
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