Sublime
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The story has made us expect this, because, so far, we have not seen Olenka consider and then reject someone—whomever Chekhov introduced, she loved. But Chekhov asks (is alert to the value of asking), “Okay, but what if she doesn’t settle for Trot?” This sort of narrative alertness is one of Chekhov’s prime gifts. That is, he’s alert to the full po
... See moreGeorge Saunders • A Swim in a Pond in the Rain: In Which Four Russians Give a Master Class on Writing, Reading, and Life
The moment anybody comes close to me, his personality begins to overpower my self-esteem and intrude upon my freedom. Within one day I can end up hating the very best of men, some because they take too long over their dinner, others because they’ve caught a cold and keep blowing their noses. I become a misanthrope, he said, the minute I come into c
... See moreFyodor Dostoevsky • The Karamazov Brothers (Oxford World's Classics)
Summer had passed. The winter of boredom had set in and frost had formed in the crevices of Blackshear’s mind.
Margaret Millar • Beast in View
Vitaly lui, financier de son état, incarnait le Moscovite : rapide, intelligent, urbain, souple et manœuvrier. Cravaté le jour sous le climatiseur de son agence, mais capable par une nuit de neige de dormir en pleine forêt, enroulé dans un manteau de laine. En Russie, Tolstoï n’était jamais loin. La modernité n’avait pas complètement arraché ses en
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