Yair > Recent Status Updates

"Perhaps Prince Deki was a heavenly being who descended to a nameless land. Perhaps he lived out his earthly years without being recognized and, do what he would, will as he could, was never separated from happiness, nor from the blessings of Heaven. Perhaps this is the reason why his remains were interred in a mound overlooking the beautiful Five League Beach and Hachijo Isle, leaving behind not a single story.…"

"IN THIS WAY the spring had neared its end."

Mishima, Yukio. The Sound of Waves (pg. 119)

"Everything was back to normal. His became again an existence in which everything was understood without the need for words. The cupboard, the wall clock, his mother, his brother, the old sooty cookstove, the sea’s roaring … folded in these familiar arms, Hiroshi slept soundly."

-Mishima, Yukio. The Sound of Waves (pg. 96)

"On Uta-jima a teacher’s position depended upon the disposition of the mothers. One teacher had been branded a Communist by the mothers and driven off the island, while another, who was popular with the mothers, had even gotten one of the women teachers pregnant—and still been promoted to be acting assistant-principal."

-Mishima, Yukio. The Sound of Waves (pg. 57)

“That Shinji-san—he’s really the bashful one, isn’t he, Father?” the mistress said, laughing.

The lone sound of her laughter echoed through the house. Neither the lighthouse-keeper nor Hatsue even smiled.

Mishima, Yukio. The Sound of Waves (pg. 49)

"UNTIL NOW the boy had been leading a peaceful, contented existence, poor though he was, but from this time on he became tormented with unrest and lost in thought, falling prey to the feeling that there was nothing about him that could possibly appeal to Hatsue."

-Mishima, Yukio. The Sound of Waves (pg.33)

"Even so, when that day’s fishing was almost done, the sight of a white freighter sailing against the evening clouds on the horizon filled the boy’s heart with strange emotions. From far away the world came pressing in upon him with a hugeness he had never before apprehended. The realization of this unknown world came to him like distant thunder, now pealing from afar, now dying away to nothingness."

Mishima, Yukio.

The girl drew her eyebrows together slightly. But she continued staring fixedly out to sea, never turning her eyes toward the boy.

Finishing his silent scrutiny, he had gone quickly on his way.…

Mishima, Yukio. The Sound of Waves (pg. 7)

ANDREAS PUM SAT surrounded by blue tiled walls and full-length mirrors, next to a blue scale.

Roth, Joseph. Rebellion (pg. 108)

"Andreas stood up. He buckled on his crutch and stood under the window. Now he could clearly hear the rain. If the window embrasure hadn’t been so deep, it would even have been drumming on the glass. As it was, though, there was just the odd drop striking one of the bars. But that much he did know: it was raining."

-Rebellion. Roth, Joseph (pg. 97)

THE FOLLOWING MORNING, Andreas Pum was given a cup of coffee and a piece of bread. He said goodbye to his three friends. “Take care you don’t wind up here again!” said Croaky.

-Rebellion. Roth, Joseph. (pg. 79)

"ANDREAS PUM’S MISFORTUNE had benefited someone else, too, namely Herr Arnold."

Rebellion. Roth, Joseph (pg. 61)

"He and no other is the instrument in the casually devastating hand of Destiny."

-Rebellion. Roth, Joseph (pg. 50)

'“Comrades!” the posters shriek. The government! The government! They want to bring down the government! He, Andreas Pum, wasn’t going to fall for that nonsense. He didn’t go around creating a disturbance, he was a quiet man, he detested drunkards and rebels and card players.'

Rebellion. Roth, Joseph (pg. 37)

"AS YET, ANDREAS WAS unaware of his rival, who, in view of his occupation, might very well be termed a dangerous one."

Rebellion, Joseph Roth pg. 27

"Anyone who saw him felt at once the desire to help him and a sensation of utter helplessness. It was painful and humiliating to acknowledge that there was nothing you could do. One felt like trembling oneself, from guilt and solidarity. His affliction seemed almost to be contagious. Finally, one withdrew, shrank back, but was still unable to forget the picture of the trembling giant."

Rebellion.

"1 THE 24TH MILITARY HOSPITAL was a cluster of shacks on the edge of the city. It would have taken an able-bodied man a good half hour’s walk to reach it from the end of the tramline. The tram went into the world, the big city and life. But to the inmates of the 24th Military Hospital the tram was out of reach."

"I had yanked down the electric light, I didn’t want to remain in the dark, a candle was still to be found, so I climbed onto a chair, stuck the candle into the sword pommel, lit it and then sat far into the night under the weak light of the angel."

Kafka, Franz. The Diaries of Franz Kafka (The Schocken Kafka Library) (p. 283). Knopf Doubleday Publishing Group. Kindle Edition.

"Life had beaten him; but you can still beat life by turning your face away. Better to sink than rise. Down, down into the ghost-kingdom, the shadowy world where shame, effort, decency do not exist!"

Orwell, George. Keep the Aspidistra Flying (p. 158). Houghton Mifflin Harcourt. Kindle Edition.

“For to-night we’ll merry be,
For to-night we’ll merry be,
For to-night we’ll merry be-e-e—
To-morrow we’ll be so-ober!”

Orwell, George. Keep the Aspidistra Flying (p. 133). Houghton Mifflin Harcourt. Kindle Edition.

"AS THE clock struck one Gordon slammed the shop door to and hurried, almost ran, to the branch of the Westminster Bank down the street."

Orwell, George. Keep the Aspidistra Flying (p. 114). Houghton Mifflin Harcourt. Kindle Edition.

The “never the time and the place” motif is not made enough of in novels.

Orwell, George. Keep the Aspidistra Flying (p. 90). Houghton Mifflin Harcourt. Kindle Edition.

"He stuck it into an envelope, addressed it and at once went out to get stamps from the slot machine. Post it to-night: these things look different in the morning. He dropped it into the pillar-box. So there was another friend gone west."

Orwell, George. Keep the Aspidistra Flying (p. 74). Houghton Mifflin Harcourt. Kindle Edition.

Their combined ages were two hundred and sixty-three years. None of them had ever been out of England, fought in war, been in prison, ridden a horse, travelled in an aeroplane, got married or given birth to a child. There seemed no reason why they should not continue in the same style until they died. Year in, year out, nothing ever happened in the Comstock family.

Orwell, George. Keep the Aspidistra Flying (p. 44).

"The upturned beam of a car, somewhere in the street parallel to Willowbed Road, penetrated the blind and threw into silhouette a leaf of the aspidistra, shaped like Agamemnon’s sword."

Orwell, George. Keep the Aspidistra Flying (p. 25). Houghton Mifflin Harcourt. Kindle Edition.

"The upturned beam of a car, somewhere in the street parallel to Willowbed Road, penetrated the blind and threw into silhouette a leaf of the aspidistra, shaped like Agamemnon’s sword."

Orwell, George. Keep the Aspidistra Flying (p. 25). Houghton Mifflin Harcourt. Kindle Edition.

"His mind was sticky with boredom. He couldn’t cope with rhymes and adjectives. You can’t, with only twopence halfpenny in your pocket."

Orwell, George. Keep the Aspidistra Flying (p. 3). Houghton Mifflin Harcourt. Kindle Edition.

"BETWEEN THEM THEY got Verne to his feet. He mumbled something they did not understand. They half carried, half dragged him down the hall to the stairs, down the stairs onto the porch. The night was cold and dark. Stars shone, scattered above them in the sky."

Dick, Philip K.. Gather Yourselves Together (p. 354). Mariner Books Classics. Kindle Edition.

They walked along together, neither of them saying anything. “Are you mad because I saw you?” Carl asked. Barbara did not answer.

Dick, Philip K.. Gather Yourselves Together (p. 303). Mariner Books Classics. Kindle Edition.

“I thought we might hitchhike.” Mrs. Fitter raised her magazine. “Now I’ve heard everything.” She adjusted her glasses. “Twelve years old and they want to hitchhike.”

Dick, Philip K.. Gather Yourselves Together (p. 279). Mariner Books Classics. Kindle Edition.