Vladimir: 'Favourite Book of the Year' Vogue

I could put my head down on the table and sob. There was a part of our campus that connected to a network of hiking trails and I stumbled toward them and walked, looking intently at the changing root structures below my feet, letting the spell of the book gradually wear off, like the buzz of an afternoon drink fades into the responsibilities of ear

I was disappointed she was absent. For one, I had wanted to see him and her together in a social setting so I could satisfy my curiosity about the nature of their relationship—to see if it was affectionate and playful, serious and loving, bickering and distant, collegial, respectful, sexual or sexless, full of admiration or rife with disdain.

even though it is in fact proven that only children do better in life and are usually more generous and community-oriented in their adulthood.

Oh, they drove me crazy, being so completely obsessed with whether or not people were represented well, wanting every piece of literature to be some utopian screed of fairness.

but I felt I knew about the kind of life that involved a begrudging and humorous acceptance of sadness as the invariable state of experience.

You have to be willfully ignorant of certain truths to be successful,

They went for coffee once, and the next day after the lecture, when the college would usually shut down for the siesta, she invited him back to her apartment. She taught him how to address her hard nipples and how to hold back orgasming while still moving inside her. This practice became a ritual that they kept religiously once a week after class.

In Japan, there is the word nakama, which is most often translated as “friend” but, as a Japanese colleague once explained to me, is more accurately defined as “close people who do things together.” We used to value that idea and talk about it—companionship in marriage: doing things together—not necessarily having to connect, but giving our company

It was longing for the love of Vladimir Vladinski, junior professor and experimental novelist. Longing was energizing my muscles and organs and brain. Longing was replacing my blood with fizzy, expansive liquid. I loved him.

Cigarettes are best when they are accompanied by intense moods—happiness, anger, defeat. No cigarette is better than the one that follows a torrential cry.