Mario Vargas Llosa · 384 pages
Rating: (13.1K votes)
“One can't fight with oneself, for this battle has only one loser.”
“I was very young and lived with my grandparents in a villa with white walls in the Calle Ocharan, in Miraflores.”
“Escribo. Escribo que escribo. Mentalmente me veo escribir que escribo y también puedo verme ver que escribo. Me recuerdo escribiendo ya y también viéndome que escribía. Y me veo recordando que me veo escribir y me recuerdo viéndome recordar que escribía y escribo viéndome escribir que recuerdo haberme visto escribir que me veía escribir que recordaba haberme visto escribir que escribía y que escribía que escribo que escribía. También puedo imaginarme escribiendo que ya había escrito que me imaginaría escribiendo que había escrito que me imaginaba escribiendo que me veo escribir que escribo.”
“He was a man in the prime of his life, his fifties...broad forehead, aquiline nose, penetrating gaze, the very soul of rectitude and goodness.”
“... дълг на слънцето е да свети, какво да се прави, ако все пак това предизвика пожар?”
“Un estómago que evacua puntual y totalmente es gemelo de una mente clara y de un alma bien pensada”
“Аз никога не съм обичал жена от плът и кръв. Мислите ли, че бих могъл да върша това, което върша, ако жените изцеждаха енергията ми? Мислите ли, че могат да се произвеждат деца и пиеси едновременно? Нима човек би могъл да съчинява, да твори ако живее под заплахата от сифилис? Жената и изкуството са взаимно изключващи се, приятелю мой. Всяко влагалище е гроб за артиста.”
“De fiecare data, imi aparea tot mai clar ca unicul lucru pe care doream sa-l fac in viata era sa devin scriitor si astfel mi se intarea convingerea ca singura cale pentru a reusi este aceea de a te darui, trup si suflet, numai literaturii.”
“Un estómago cargado, (...) avaricioso, engendra malos pensamientos, avinagra el carácter, fomenta complejos y apetitos sexuales chuecos y crea vocación de delito, una necesidad de castigar en los otros el tormento excrementicio”
“su manera de coordinar las ideas hacía pensar en tumores, en afasia, en hombres mono”
“Игумените се безпокояха от вярата на пастор Сеферино Уанка Лейва, че в обширния репертоар на смъртните грехове по никой начин не трябва да фигурира ръкоблудството. Въпреки упреците на учителите, които с цитати от Библията и многобройни папски були, бичуващи Онан, се опитваха да го върнат в правия път, Сеферино Уанка Лейва нощем подбуждаше другарите си, твърдейки, че ръкоблудството е сътворено от Бога, за да обезщети свещениците заради обета им за безбрачие и целомъдрие или поне да го направи по-леко поносим. Грехът, твърдеше той, е в удоволствието, което предлага женската плът или (казано по-извратено) чуждата плът, но защо да се счита за грях скромното, самотно и безплодно облекчение, което постигат заедно въображението и ръката?”
“Io le spiegai che l'amore non esisteva, che era un'invenzione di un italiano chiamato Petrarca e dei trovatori provenzali. Che quanto la gente credeva un cristallino fiotto dell'emozione, una pura effusione del sentimento era il desiderio istintivo dei gatti in calore celato dietro le belle parole e i miti della letteratura.”
“No les guardo rencor, estoy acostumbrado a la incomprensión de la gente. ¡Hasta siempre, señores!”
“Sólo los enamorados se abstraen así ─se acercó a él y le revolvió los cabellos─. Baja de la luna, sobrino.”
“Le raccontai tutta la mia vita, non quella passata ma quella che avrei vissuto in futuro.”
“—Los van a meter presos por escandalosos y pornográficos —estaba feliz y, abrazándonos a los dos, nos anunció—: La flaca Nancy me ha aceptado una invitación a los toros y hay que celebrarlo.”
“Un tiro es un segundo. Eso es preferible a irse muriendo de a poquitos, de hambre, de frío, de soledad, de tristeza.”
“Por otra parte, el Perú me ha parecido siempre un país de gentes tristes”
“Any chance that you're pregnant?' the technician says as he pulls the X-ray lamp over my swollen knee.
'No,' Henry and Dad say at the same time.”
“Holly clambered after him, struggling up the human-size steps.
"Wait! Just wait," she called, overtaking Artemis and looking him in the eye from one step up. "I know you, Artemis. You like to play your genius card close to your chest until the big reveal. And that's worked out for us so far. But this time you need to let me in. I can help. So, tell me the truth, do you have a plan?"
Artemis met his friend's gaze and lied to her face.
"No," he said. "No plan.”
“cement in bold relief,—far underground. I lean my elbows on the table, and the lamp lights brightly the newspapers I am fool enough to re-read, and the absurd books.”
“I don't want to destroy your dreams.'
'They were never my dreams until I met you ... a dream you gave me.'
'That doesn't mean I can take it away.”
“Are the kids at school?"
"No, they're in the lake. My God.”
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