French Exit

French Exit

“I’ve just been out riding my bicycle,” Malcolm said. “What bicycle?” “Frances bought me one for Christmas.” “That’s sad. Where are you?” “Next to the canal. Want to know what I’m looking at?” “Not really. All right.” “Right in front of me there’s a boatload of...
Breakfast of Champions

Breakfast of Champions

A lot of the nonsense was the innocent result of playfulness on the part of the founding fathers of the nation of Dwayne Hoover and Kilgore Trout. The founders were aristocrats, and they wished to show off their useless eduction, which consisted of the study of...
Walden

Walden

It is never too late to give up our prejudices. No way of thinking or doing, however ancient, can be trusted without proof. What every body echoes or in silence passes by as true to-day may turn out to be falsehood to-morrow, mere smoke of opinion, which some had...
Capital

Capital

It wouldn’t be true to say that Roger saw the funny side, or had glimpses of perspective, or anything like that; but there were one or two moments on Christmas morning when he was able to remember that things hadn’t always been like this. At about quarter to seven,...
Three Ladies In The Morning

Three Ladies In The Morning

The midtown hotel restaurant was almost empty at eleven-thirty in the morning. Three waiters were talking in a corner, leaning against the wall. A young waitress was going from table to table and cleaning out the ashtrays with a wet rag. No one was seated at the...
The Shipping News

The Shipping News

“If he’d gone on with the others he’d likely have gone into a miserable life. You ask me, Canada was built on the slave labor of those poor Home children, worked to the bone, treated like dirt, half starved and crazed with lonesomeness. See, my father kept in touch...