(no subject)

During the war, a soldier faithfully wrote his mother every week so she would know he was all right. One week, she didn't get a letter and immediately began to worry. Within a couple of weeks she got a letter from the Army saying that her son had been captured and was being held in a camp, but they assured her that they had no reason to believe the American prisoners were being mistreated in any way. A few weeks later the woman finally received another letter from her son: "Dear Mom, try not to worry about me, they are treating us well and I'll be released as soon as the war is over. Make sure that little Teddy gets the stamp for his collection. Love you, Joe." The woman was overjoyed to hear the news, but was confused because she had no idea who 'little Teddy' was. She decided to steam the stamp from the envelope and have a look. Written on the back of the stamp were the words: "They've cut off my legs."

The History of Love by Nicole Krauss; page 187

Franz Kafka is dead. He died in a tree from which he wouldn’t come down. "Come down!" they cried to him. "Come down! Come down!" Silence filled the night, and the night filled the silence, while they waited for Kafka to speak. "I can't," he finally said, with a note of wistfulness. "Why?" they cried. Stars spilled across the black sky. "Because then you’ll stop asking for me."

Everything Is Illuminated by Jonathan Safran Foer

"It's so hard to express yourself."
"I understand this."
"I want to express myself."
"The same is true for me."
"I'm looking for my voice."
"It's in your mouth."
"I want to do something I'm not ashamed of."
"Something you are proud of, yes?"
"Not even. I just don't want to be ashamed."

Everything Is Illuminated by Jonathan Safran Foer

"Do you think I'm wonderful? she asked him one day as they leaned against the trunk of a petrified maple. No, he said. Why? Because so many girls are wonderful. I imagine hundreds of men have called their loves wonderful today, and it's only noon. You couldn't be something that hundreds of others are."