“I left my prestigious “mainstream” job and became what I had always wanted to be—a writer, a nightguard, a gas-stoker, a public park attendant, a nobody, a turned-down applicant for an exit visa, a refusenik, a happy man, a serious… — Mikhail Iossel Copy Share Image
“I realized that I was a bad listener: I paid too much attention to the words.” — Mikhail Iossel Copy Share Image
“Each one appeared less a human being than an extension of his fixed bayonet.” — Mikhail Iossel Copy Share Image
“I had never seen a photo of a naked woman before—only paintings and sculptures in the Hermitage.” — Mikhail Iossel Copy Share Image
“Real life is often more literary than the works of literature. That’s because it doesn’t have to appear credible.” — Mikhail Iossel Copy Share Image
“I knew they were thought of as fools. I also knew they were clever.” — Mikhail Iossel Copy Share Image
“His apartment was on the twenty-fifth floor and cost him $3000 a month. He was in his early twenties and had a stupidly disarming… — Mikhail Iossel Copy Share Image
“Every time I read a newspaper, recognizing by experience the real meaning of each word that has been omitted, I feel sad, and even… — Mikhail Iossel Copy Share Image
“Maybe it was just a spur-of-the-moment, “why not?” wild kind of thing that spontaneous people like him often do. I could easily see that:… — Mikhail Iossel Copy Share Image
