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Quote by Bohumil Hrabal

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I Served the King of England

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Author

Bohumil Hrabal
Bohumil Hrabal

Bohumil Hrabal was a prominent Czech writer known for his humor and satire. His works often focus on the everyday lives of ordinary people, exploring themes of humanity and social change. Hrabal's distinctive writing style has won him a wide readership. more

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“She was bad at love. There were people in the world who were good at love and people who were bad at it. She was bad. She used to think she was good at love, that it was intimacy she was bad at. But you had to have both. Love without intimacy, she knew, was an unsung tune. It was all in your head. You said, "Listen to this!" but what you found yourself singing was a tangle, a nothing, a heap. It reminded her of a dinner party she had gone to once, where dessert was served on plates printed with French songs. After dinner everyone had had to sing their plate, but hers had still had whipped cream on it, and when it came her turn, she had garbled the notes and words, frantically pushing the whipped cream around with a fork so she could see the next measure. Oh, she was bad, bad like that, at love.”

“He pulls out the pipe I stole and sticks it between his teeth. “What do you think?” he asks around the stem. “Do I look noble?” I snatch it away, and his teeth close with a clack. “Don’t you know that will kill you?” He stares at me a minute, a mischievous light coming into his eyes. Then suddenly he lunges at me. “Give it back!” “It’s mine! I stole it!” “I saved you from getting flogged!” He makes a grab for the pipe, and I roll aside, holding it out of his reach. With a wicked laugh, he tickles my side, and I drop the pipe as I hasten to shove him away. Aladdin picks up the pipe and brandishes it triumphantly, while I lie in the grass and laugh.”