Stephen Marotta

“In Ferdydurke, Gombrowicz got at the fundamental shift that occurred during the twentieth century: until then mankind was divided in two--those who defended the status quo and those who sought to change it. Then the acceleration of History took effect: whereas in the past man had lived continuously in the same setting, in a society that changed only very slowly, now the moment arrived when he suddenly began to feel History moving beneath his feet, like a rolling sidewalk: the status quo was in motion! All at once, being comfortable with the status quo was the same thing as being comfortable with History on the move! Which meant that a person could be both progressive and conformist, conservative and rebel, at the same time!”
― Milan Kundera, The Curtain: An Essay in Seven Parts

“Homer never wondered whether, after their many hand-to-hand struggles, Achilles or Ajax still had all their teeth.”
― Milan Kundera, The Curtain: An Essay in Seven Parts

“An iceberg is water striving to be land; a mountain, especially a Himalaya, especially Everest, is land's attempt to metamorphose into sky; it is grounded in flight, the earth mutated--nearly--into air, and become, in the true sense, exalted. Long before she ever encountered the mountain, Allie was aware of its brooding presence in her soul.”
― Salman Rushdie, The Satanic Verses

“A book is not completed till it's read.”
― Salman Rushdie