It Is One Of The Paradoxes Of

The Contents Of Someone's Bookcase Are Part Of His History, Like An Ancestral Portrait.

There Was A Time When We Expected Nothing Of Our Children But Obedience, As Opposed To The Present, When We Expect Everything Of Them But Obedience.

Chic Is A Convent For Unloved Women.

To Choose A Writer For A Friend Is Like Palling Around With Your Cardiologist, Who Might Be Musing As You Talk To Him That You Are A Sinking Man. A Writer's Love For Another Writer Is Never Quite Free Of Malice. He May Enjoy Discussing Your Failures Even More Than You Do. He Probably Sees You As Tragic, Like His Characters - Or Unworthy Of Tragedy, Which Is Worse.

In An Age Like Ours, Which Is Not Given To Letter-writing, We Forget What An Important Part It Used To Play In People's Lives.