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The Swimmer QUOTES

The Swimmer QUOTES

1 " Then there was a fine noise of rushing water from the crown of an oak at his back, as if a spigot there had been turned. Then the noise of fountains came from the crowns of all the tall trees. Why did he love storms, what was the meaning of his excitement when the door sprang open and the rain wind fled rudely up the stair, why had the simple task of shutting the windows of an old house seem fitting and urgent, why did the first watery notes of a storm wind have for him the unmistakable sound of good news, cheer, glad tidings? "

― John Cheever , The Swimmer

2 " His life was not confined and the delight he took in this observation could not be explained by its suggestion of escape. "

― John Cheever , The Swimmer

3 " He was not a practical joke nor was he a fool but he was determinedly original and had a vague and modest idea of himself as a legendary figure. "

― John Cheever , The Swimmer

4 " Was his memory failing or had he so disciplined it in the repression of unpleasant facts that he had damaged his sense of the truth? "

― John Cheever , The Swimmer

5 " He might have been compared to a summer's day, particularly the last hours of one. "

― John Cheever , The Swimmer

6 " Merrill poteva essere paragonato a una giornata d’estate, in particolare alle sue ultime ore, e anche se non aveva una racchetta da tennis né una borsa da vela, evocava un’immagine di gioventù sportiva e di tempo clemente. Aveva appena finito di nuotare e ora respirava profondamente, come se volesse mandar giù nei polmoni tutte le componenti di quel momento, il calore del sole e l’intensità del suo piacere; sembrava che tutte venissero aspirate dentro il suo petto. Abitava a Bullet Park, una quindicina di chilometri a sud, dove le sue quattro splendide figlie dovevano aver terminato di pranzare e stavano forse giocando a tennis. In quel momento gli venne l’idea che, seguendo un percorso ad angolo in direzione sudovest, sarebbe potuto arrivare a casa sua a nuoto. "

― John Cheever , The Swimmer

7 " He has done what he wanted, he had swum the county, but he was so stupified with exhaustion that his triumph seemed vague. "

― John Cheever , The Swimmer

8 " Was his memory failing or had he so disciplined it in the repression of unpleasant facts that he had damaged his sense of the truth?

He was not a practical joke nor was he a fool but he was determinedly original and had a vague and modest idea of himself as a legendary figure.

He was not a practical joke nor was he a fool but he was determinedly original and had a vague and modest idea of himself as a legendary figure. "

― John Cheever , The Swimmer