The Ode Less Travelled: Unlocking the Poet Within
Quotes from the Book
There were people who believed their opportunities to live a fulfilled life were hampered by the number of Asians in England, by the existance of a royal family, by the volume of traffic that passed by their house, by the malice of trade unions, by the power of callous employers, by the refusal of the health service to take their condition seriously, by communism, by capitalism, by atheism, by anything, in fact, but their own futile, weak-minded failure to get a fucking grip.
You think I have more than most people dream of? What other people dream of doesn't matter. I always had less than I ever dreamt of. All I ever dreamt of was family. A father and a mother. Most people don't even need to dream of such luxuries, they take them for granted. That is what I used to dwell on, alone in my bedroom. I dwelt as all children do, on the injustice. Injustice is the most terrible thing in the world, Oliver. Everything that is evil springs from it and only a cheap soul can abide it without anger.
Anger fed him and clothed him and he owed it much.
Like a Frenchman, far from home, catching a whiff of Gauloise.
Forget ideas, Mr. Author. What kind of pen do you use?
About Stephen Fry
More by Stephen Fry
All books by Stephen Fry →About the book
"We are merely the stars' tennis balls, struck and --bandied/Which way please them." ----The Duchess of Malfi --by John WebsterEverything about Stephen Fry's new novel, including the title, will be a surprise, perhaps even a shock. The only thing that can be guaranteed is that it will be his next earth-movingly funny bestseller. And we are still pretty confidently saying it will not be about earthworm migration patterns in East Devon.This is the story of Ned Maddenstone, a nice young man who is about to find out just what hell it is to be one of the stars' tennis balls. For Ned, 1978 seems a blissful year: handsome, popular, responsible and a fine cricketer, life is progressing smoothly for him, if not effortlessly. When he meets Portia Fendeman his personal jigsaw appears complete. What if her left-wing parents despise his Tory MP father? Doesn't that just make them star-crossed lovers
Book details
- First published
- 2000
- Author
- Stephen Fry
- Genre
- Fiction
- Goodreads rating
- 3.82 (6k ratings) →
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