http://www.edrants.com/interim/ a cultural website in ever-shifting standing Wed, 08 Feb 2012 11:18:09 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.3.1 http://www.edrants.com/interim/comment-page-1/#comment-242101 Anders in the Flesh : Edward Champion’s Filthy Habits Sat, 12 Apr 2008 04:39:23 +0000 http://www.edrants.com/?p=7501#comment-242101 [...] Tobias Wolff’s short story, “Bullet to the Brain” concerns Anders, a critic so removed from the joys and pleasures of life that he is reduced to niggling over every ontological detail. Because of this, reality trumps his existence. The story is unspeakably tragic in its final paragraphs, as we learn that there are pleasures that Anders is incapable of remembering. I don’t know if Lee Siegel has ever read this tale, but his embarrassing appearance at the New York Public Library on Thursday night revealed a sad sack so detached from life that I could not help but empathize, even as he tried to bait me by declaring to the crowd that I wasn’t a writer. [...] [...] Tobias Wolff’s short story, “Bullet to the Brain” concerns Anders, a critic so removed from the joys and pleasures of life that he is reduced to niggling over every ontological detail. Because of this, reality trumps his existence. The story is unspeakably tragic in its final paragraphs, as we learn that there are pleasures that Anders is incapable of remembering. I don’t know if Lee Siegel has ever read this tale, but his embarrassing appearance at the New York Public Library on Thursday night revealed a sad sack so detached from life that I could not help but empathize, even as he tried to bait me by declaring to the crowd that I wasn’t a writer. [...]

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