What I’m reading
For all the crap I have to read for school, there’s the odd course that is full of really excellent texts. Here’s an amusing bit from Don DeLillo’s Cosmopolis:
The car drifted into gridlock on Third Avenue. The driver’s standing orders were to advance into blocked intersections, not hang feebly back.
“There’s a poem I read in which a rat becomes the unit of currency.”
“Yes. That would be interesting,” Chin said.
“Yes. That would impact the world economy.”
“The name alone. Better than the dong or the kwacha.”
“The name says everything.”
“Yes. The rat,” Chin said.
“Yes. The rat closed lower today against the euro.”
“Yes. There is growing concern that the Russian rat will be devalued.”
“White rats. Think about that.”
“Yes. Pregnant rats.”
“Yes. Major sell-off of pregnant Russian rats.”
“Britain converts to the rat,” Chin said.
“Yes. Joins trend to universal currency.”
“Yes. U.S. establishes rat standard.”
“Yes. Every U.S. dollar redeemable for rat.”
“Dead rats.”
“Yes. Stockpiling of dead rats called global health menace.”
DeLillo, Don. Cosmopolis. New York: Scribner, 2003. 23-24.
Add comment April 13, 2007
