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There are books that speak to us of our own lives with a clarity we cannot match. They prevent the morose suspicion that we do not fully belong to the...more

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The core – and perhaps unexpected – thing that books do for us is simplify. It sounds odd, because we think of literature as sophisticated. But there ...more

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Curiosity takes ignorance seriously, and is confident enough to admit when it does not know. It is aware of not knowing, and it sets out to do somethi...more

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It is difficult when reading the description of certain fictional characters not at the same time to imagine the real-life acquaintances who they most...more

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One cannot read a novel without ascribing to the heroine the traits of the one we love.

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In literature, too, we admire prose in which a small and astutely arranged set of words has been constructed to carry a large consignment of ideas. 'W...more