Percy writes, “The tragedy of the book is the tragedy of the author—his suicide in 1969 at the age of thirty two.” Henceforth, readers of Confederacy have negotiated this intriguing paradox of the tragicomedy; the reader’s laughter is never
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“No one could have missed the reservoir of self-pity, the quickness to blame, the narrowing of the eyes, as if in wildlife documentary, when things did not go his [Clinton] way. That famous tendency of the candidate to take a less than forthcoming approach to embarrassing questions that had already been well documented.”
― Political Fictions
― Political Fictions
“I am going to describe her life from the inside outward, from its core, the house as well, rooms in which life was gathered, rooms in which the morning sunlight, the floors spread with Oriental rugs that had been her mother-in-law’s, apricot, rough and tan, rugs which though worn seemed to drink the sun, to collect its warmth; books, potpourris, cushions in colors of Matisse, objects glistening like evidence, many which might had they been possessed by ancient people, have been placed in the tombs for another life: clear crystal dice, pieces of staghorn, amber beads, boxes, sculptures, wooden balls, magazines in which were photographs of women to whom she compared herself.”
― Light Years
― Light Years
“I reached into my pocket and took the medal and tossed it toward the black opening. It went right in. It disappeared into the darkness.
Then I stepped onto the sidewalk and walked back home. When I got there my parents where doing various cleaning chores. It was a Saturday. Now I had to mow and clip the lawn, water it and the flowers. I changed into my working clothes, went out, and with my father watching me from beneath his dark and evil eyebrows, I opened the garage doors and carefully pulled the mower out backwards, the mower blades not turning then, but waiting.”
― Ham on Rye
Then I stepped onto the sidewalk and walked back home. When I got there my parents where doing various cleaning chores. It was a Saturday. Now I had to mow and clip the lawn, water it and the flowers. I changed into my working clothes, went out, and with my father watching me from beneath his dark and evil eyebrows, I opened the garage doors and carefully pulled the mower out backwards, the mower blades not turning then, but waiting.”
― Ham on Rye
“It must have been marvelous when the century was young and things impressed themselves in such blatant vivid brilliance that an approaching fire under a starry sky could illuminate, even to a Crimean actress, this sense of “place” – that there was nothing to be wanted from material things, nothing to be saved.”
― Slow Days, Fast Company: The World, the Flesh, and L.A.
― Slow Days, Fast Company: The World, the Flesh, and L.A.
“It’s too late now. The game’s been won by companies who don’t give two shits about community character or decent jobs. Congratufuckinglations, America! We did the deal. Now we’ve got an unlimited supply of cheap commodities and unhealthy food and crumbling downtowns, no sense of place, and a permanent under class. Yay. The underclass isn’t relegated to urban ghettos either. It’s coast to coast and especially in between. Take US 50 west from Kansas City to Sacramento or US 6 from Chicago to California and you’ll see a couple thousand miles of corn, soybeans, and terminally ill towns. It looks like a scene from The Walking Dead. If there’s such a thing as the American Heartland, it has a stake through it.”
― The Long Haul: A Trucker's Tales of Life on the Road
― The Long Haul: A Trucker's Tales of Life on the Road
21st Century Literature
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We read literary fiction from 2000 to present, with the intent of finding those literary gems of timeless and enduring quality. We're less focused o ...more
Catching up on Classics (and lots more!)
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The world is made up of two kinds of people: first, those who love classics, and second, those who have not yet read a classic. Be bold and join us as ...more
The Great American Read
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— last activity Sep 23, 2021 08:16AM
This group is inspired by PBS's "The Great American Read." Join us in reading and discussing books on the GAR list. All are welcome. #TGAR #Bookclub # ...more
Dave’s 2025 Year in Books
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