In youth

I'm as deep into working on The Getaway Car, my forthcoming Donald Westlake collection, as I've been yet--the hope is to turn in a draft manuscript next week--so all I'll steal time away for today is to share a paragraph from Jane Bowles's Two Serious Ladies:

As a child Christina had been very much disliked by other children. She had never suffered particularly because of this, having led, even at a very early age, an active inner life that curtailed her observation of whatever went on around her, to such a degree that she never picked up the mannerisms then in vogue, and at the age of ten was called old-fashioned by other little girls. Even then she wore the look of certain fanatics who think of themselves as leaders without once having gained the respect of a single human being.

I picked up Two Serious Ladies entirely on the strength of a single line quoted by a friend on Facebook:

It is against my entire code, but then, I have never begun to use my code, although I judge everything by it.

You folks are now in the fortunate position of having a whole paragraph more than I did--plus my assurance that it was a good decision. To the bookstore, I say!