--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Around this time, Pelletier and Espinoza…" description: "\"“Around this time, Pelletier and Espinoza, worried about the current state of their mutual lover, had two long conversations on the phone. The first co..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ca3/roberto-bola-o-725_american-literature_around-this-time-pelletier-and-espinoza_915926.jpg" --- # Around this time, Pelletier and Espinoza, worried about… ![“Around this time, Pelletier and Espinoza, worried about the current state of their mutual lover, had two long conversations on the phone. The first conversation began awkwardly, although Espinoza had been expecting Pelletier's call, as if both men found it difficult to say what sooner or later…” quote by Roberto Bolaño](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ca3/roberto-bola-o-725_american-literature_around-this-time-pelletier-and-espinoza_915926.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ca3/roberto-bola-o-725_american-literature_around-this-time-pelletier-and-espinoza_915926.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ca3/roberto-bola-o-725_american-literature_around-this-time-pelletier-and-espinoza_915926.jpg) > ““Around this time, Pelletier and Espinoza, worried about the current state of their mutual lover, had two long conversations on the phone. The first conversation began awkwardly, although Espinoza had been expecting Pelletier's call, as if both men found it difficult to say what sooner or later they would have to say. The first twenty minutes were tragic in tone, with the word 'fate' used ten times and the word 'friendship' twenty-four times. Liz Norton's name was spoken fifty times, nine of them in vain. The word 'Paris' was said seven times, 'Madrid', eight. The word 'love' was spoken twice, once by each man. The word 'horror' was spoken six times and the word 'happiness' once (by Espinoza). The word 'solution' was said twelve times. The word 'solipsism' once (Pelletier). The word 'euphemism' ten times. The word 'category', in the singular and plural, nine times. The word 'structuralism' once (Pelletier). The term 'American literature' three times. The word 'dinner' or 'eating' or 'breakfast' or 'sandwich' nineteen times. The word 'eyes' or 'hands' or 'hair' fourteen times. Then the conversation proceeded more smoothly. Pelletier told Espinoza a joke in German and Espinoza laughed. In fact, they both laughed, wrapped up in the waves of whatever it was that linked their voices and ears across the dark fields and the windows and the snow of the Pyrenees and the rivers and lonely roads and the separate and interminable suburbs surrounding Paris and Madrid.”” [Roberto Bolaño](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roberto-bola-o/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. A detailed, almost clinical, description of a conversation reveals how language can both mask and expose deep emotional currents, showing the tension between intellectual analysis and human feeling. **In simple terms:** Words can hide and reveal feelings in a conversation. Key Takeaway Notice how language shapes emotional reality. Themes communication language emotion analysis friendship Mood reflective melancholic introspective Type literary analytical philosophical When to use this quote - literary analysis - psychotherapy - relationship counseling - writing workshops Key Concepts semiotics psychology narrative technique Questions to Reflect On - How does counting words change our perception of a conversation? - What emotions lie beneath the analytical surface? A Different Perspective The focus on word counts may overlook the underlying emotional truth. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [American literature](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/american-literature/) [Communication](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/communication/) [Espinoza Joke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/espinoza-joke-1378781/) [Language](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/language/) [Long conversations](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/long-conversations/) [Pelletier Told](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/pelletier-told-1378782/) [Sooner or later](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/sooner-or-later/) [Three times](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/three-times/) [Time](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/time/) [Times Conversation](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/times-conversation-1378783/) [Told Espinoza](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/told-espinoza-1378780/) ## Related quotes > [“The first conversation began awkwardly, although Espinoza had been expecting Pelletier's call, as if both men found it difficult to say what sooner or…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roberto-bola-o/the-first-conversation-began-awkwardly-although-espinoza-had-been/) [Roberto Bolaño](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roberto-bola-o/) > [My neighbors tell me of their adventures with famous gentlemen and ladies, what notabilities they met at the dinner-table; but I am no more…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-david-thoreau/my-neighbors-tell-me-of-their-adventures-with-famous-gentlemen-and/) [Henry David Thoreau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-david-thoreau/) > [“What times are these when a conversation is almost a crime because it includes so much made explicit?”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-celan/what-times-are-these-when-a-conversation-is-almost-a-crime-because-it/) [Paul Celan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-celan/) > [“People had long conversations with him, only to realize later that he hadn't spoken.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laura-hillenbrand/people-had-long-conversations-with-him-only-to-realize-later-that-he/) [Laura Hillenbrand](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laura-hillenbrand/) > [Long conversations with pals when neither you nor they have had a drink can be a test of palship.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/p-j-o-rourke/long-conversations-with-pals-when-neither-you-nor-they-have-had-a/) [P. J. O'Rourke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/p-j-o-rourke/) > [Do you see that kitten chasing so prettily her own tail? If you could look with her eyes, you might see her surrounded with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-waldo-emerson/do-you-see-that-kitten-chasing-so-prettily-her-own-tail-if-you-could/) [Ralph Waldo Emerson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-waldo-emerson/) > [. . . our lives are shaped by our interactions with others. Whether we have a long conversation with a friend or simply place…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/donald-o-clifton/our-lives-are-shaped-by-our-interactions-with-others-whether-we-have/) [Donald O. Clifton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/donald-o-clifton/) > [I had a long conversation with the imam, the Grand Imam of the Al-Azhar University, and I know how they think... They seek peace,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pope-francis/i-had-a-long-conversation-with-the-imam-the-grand-imam-of-the-al/) [Pope Francis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pope-francis/) > [Great minds comprehend more in a word, a look, a pressure of the hand than ordinary men in long conversations, or the most elaborate…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/johann-kaspar-lavater/great-minds-comprehend-more-in-a-word-a-look-a-pressure-of-the-hand/) [Johann Kaspar Lavater](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/johann-kaspar-lavater/) > [At times I have long conversations with God. Sometimes I ask questions. I admit that there are also times when I let out my…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/iyanla-vanzant/at-times-i-have-long-conversations-with-god-sometimes-i-ask-questions/) [Iyanla Vanzant](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/iyanla-vanzant/) > [“I had three long conversations with Marusya over a cup of coffee. She told me her whole rather silly story. To some degree we…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sergei-dovlatov/i-had-three-long-conversations-with-marusya-over-a-cup-of-coffee-she/) [Sergei Dovlatov](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sergei-dovlatov/) > [ \[Stanley\] Kubrick was a fascinating, larger than life guy who had been a friend for many years prior to our working together on that… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sydney-pollack/stanley-kubrick-was-a-fascinating-larger-than-life-guy-who-had-been-a/) [Sydney Pollack](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sydney-pollack/) > [Even if I live not in a big city, even if I detest to go to parties, I love street fairs and long conversations…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paulo-coelho/even-if-i-live-not-in-a-big-city-even-if-i-detest-to-go-to-parties-i/) [Paulo Coelho](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paulo-coelho/) > [Walking helps me a lot to feel alive, and I do this every single day, my wife and I. We have long conversations about…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paulo-coelho/walking-helps-me-a-lot-to-feel-alive-and-i-do-this-every-single-day/) [Paulo Coelho](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paulo-coelho/) > [“(God) being the old man invented in order to, and with whom to, hold long conversations.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/milan-kundera/god-being-the-old-man-invented-in-order-to-and-with-whom-to-hold-long/) [Milan Kundera](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/milan-kundera/) ## More by Roberto Bolaño > [Literature + Illness = Illness](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roberto-bola-o/literature-illness-illness/) [Roberto Bolano](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roberto-bola-o/) > [“Brief like beauty, Absolute beauty, That which contains all the world's majesty and misery And which is only visible to those who love.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roberto-bola-o/brief-like-beauty-absolute-beauty-that-which-contains-all-the-world-s/) [Roberto Bolaño](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roberto-bola-o/) > [“There are books for when you’re bored. Plenty of them. There are books for when you’re calm. The best kind, in my opinion. There…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roberto-bola-o/there-are-books-for-when-you-re-bored-plenty-of-them-there-are-books/) [Roberto Bolaño](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roberto-bola-o/) > [“I try to find the books that I lost or forgot more than 30 years ago on another continent, with the hope and dedication…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roberto-bola-o/i-try-to-find-the-books-that-i-lost-or-forgot-more-than-30-years-ago/) [Roberto Bolaño](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roberto-bola-o/) > [“In a word, and bluntly: as they walked around Sankt Pauli, it came to Pelletier and Espinoza that the search for Archimboldi could never…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roberto-bola-o/in-a-word-and-bluntly-as-they-walked-around-sankt-pauli-it-came-to/) [Roberto Bolaño](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roberto-bola-o/) > [We're artists too, but we do a good job hiding it, don't we?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roberto-bola-o/we-re-artists-too-but-we-do-a-good-job-hiding-it-don-t-we/) [Roberto Bolano](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roberto-bola-o/) > [Nothing good ever comes of love. What comes of love is always something better](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roberto-bola-o/nothing-good-ever-comes-of-love-what-comes-of-love-is-always/) [Roberto Bolano](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roberto-bola-o/) > [“book on Archimboldi, a book that might be the grand Archimboldian opus, the pilot fish that would swim for a long time beside the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roberto-bola-o/book-on-archimboldi-a-book-that-might-be-the-grand-archimboldian-opus/) [Roberto Bolaño](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roberto-bola-o/) > [Literature is the product of a strange rain of blood, sweat, semen, and tears.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roberto-bola-o/literature-is-the-product-of-a-strange-rain-of-blood-sweat-semen-and/) [Roberto Bolano](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roberto-bola-o/) > [“The brief sound is like a color swallowed by a crack. But what color?”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roberto-bola-o/the-brief-sound-is-like-a-color-swallowed-by-a-crack-but-what-color/) [Roberto Bolaño](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roberto-bola-o/) > [“All horrors are dulled by routine.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roberto-bola-o/all-horrors-are-dulled-by-routine/) [Roberto Bolaño](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roberto-bola-o/) > [“The fourth dimension, he liked to say, encompasses the three dimensions and consequently puts them in their place, that is, it obliterates the dictatorship…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roberto-bola-o/the-fourth-dimension-he-liked-to-say-encompasses-the-three-dimensions/) [Roberto Bolaño](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roberto-bola-o/) > [Every book in the world is out there waiting to be read by me.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roberto-bola-o/every-book-in-the-world-is-out-there-waiting-to-be-read-by-me/) [Roberto Bolano](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roberto-bola-o/) > [“Y después de coger a mi general le gustaba salir al patio a fumarse su cigarro y a pensar en la tristeza poscoito, en…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roberto-bola-o/y-despu-s-de-coger-a-mi-general-le-gustaba-salir-al-patio-a-fumarse/) [Roberto Bolaño](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roberto-bola-o/) > [“I enjoy vegetarian food like I enjoy a kick in the stomach.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roberto-bola-o/i-enjoy-vegetarian-food-like-i-enjoy-a-kick-in-the-stomach/) [Roberto Bolano](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roberto-bola-o/) [Explore all 303 Roberto Bolaño quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roberto-bola-o/) ## More American literature quotes > [American literature was enriched with Men Who Loved Allison … Of the actual and eventual worth of this romance I cannot pretend to be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-branch-cabell/american-literature-was-enriched-with-men-who-loved-allison-of-the/) [James Branch Cabell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-branch-cabell/) > [“I have seen them stagger out of their movie palaces and blink their empty eyes in the face of reality once more, and stagger…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-fante/i-have-seen-them-stagger-out-of-their-movie-palaces-and-blink-their/) [John Fante](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-fante/) > [Janet Mock's honest and sometimes searing journey is a rare and important look into la vida liminal, one that she manages to negotiate remarkably…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/raquel-cepeda/janet-mock-s-honest-and-sometimes-searing-journey-is-a-rare-and/) [Raquel Cepeda](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/raquel-cepeda/) > [Héctor Tobar's accomplished first novel affords a perspective that is overdue and urgently needed in North American literature- -an insider's vision of L.A. as…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stuart-dybek/h-ctor-tobar-s-accomplished-first-novel-affords-a-perspective-that-is/) [Stuart Dybek](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stuart-dybek/) > [It is one of the paradoxes of American literature that our writers are forever looking back with love and nostalgia at lives they couldn't…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anatole-broyard/it-is-one-of-the-paradoxes-of-american-literature-that-our-writers/) [Anatole Broyard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anatole-broyard/) > [I think most Native American literature is unreadable by the vast majority of Native Americans. Generally speaking Indians don't read books. It's not a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sherman-alexie/i-think-most-native-american-literature-is-unreadable-by-the-vast/) [Sherman Alexie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sherman-alexie/) > [Throughout African-American literature, the writer has, in a sense, been burdened by the necessity of pleading the case for the whole race. For example,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/glenn-ligon/throughout-african-american-literature-the-writer-has-in-a-sense-been/) [Glenn Ligon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/glenn-ligon/) > [“Don Raimondo tells me what he can’t tell them. “The emptiness on the surface of a wall left by a sold bookshelf is the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/erri-deluca/don-raimondo-tells-me-what-he-can-t-tell-them-the-emptiness-on-the/) [Erri DeLuca](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/erri-deluca/) > [What had brought me to New York in the autumn of 1972 was a letter of recommendation written by Norman Mailer, the author of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-wolcott/what-had-brought-me-to-new-york-in-the-autumn-of-1972-was-a-letter-of/) [James Wolcott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-wolcott/) > [Here is one of the fundamental defects of American fiction--perhaps the one character that sets it off sharply from all other known kinds of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/h-l-mencken/here-is-one-of-the-fundamental-defects-of-american-fiction-perhaps/) [H. L. Mencken](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/h-l-mencken/) > [“I reckon I got to light out for the Territory ahead of the rest, because Aunt Sally she's going to adopt me and sivilize…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-twain/i-reckon-i-got-to-light-out-for-the-territory-ahead-of-the-rest/) [Mark Twain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-twain/) > [“Sociologically, politically, psychologically, spiritually, it was never enough for James Baldwin to categorize himself as one thing or the other: not just black, not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aberjhani/sociologically-politically-psychologically-spiritually-it-was-never/) [Aberjhani](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aberjhani/) > [Dagwood Bumstead was a great unrecognized hero of American literature. He showed up every day, he got knocked down every day, he never got…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-l-brooks/dagwood-bumstead-was-a-great-unrecognized-hero-of-american-literature/) [James L. Brooks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-l-brooks/) > [All modern American literature comes from one book by Mark Twain called Huckleberry Finn.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ernest-hemingway/all-modern-american-literature-comes-from-one-book-by-mark-twain/) [Ernest Hemingway](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ernest-hemingway/) > [“Still, it strikes me that, taken together, they do make an argument, and it is this: the rise of American democracy is bound up…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jill-lepore/still-it-strikes-me-that-taken-together-they-do-make-an-argument-and/) [Jill Lepore](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jill-lepore/) [Browse all 144 American literature quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/american-literature/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“Around this time, Pelletier and Espinoza, worried about the current state of their mutual lover, had two long conversations on the phone. The first conversation began awkwardly, although Espinoza had been expecting Pelletier's call, as if both men found it difficult to say what sooner or later they would have to say. The first twenty minutes were tragic in tone, with the word 'fate' used ten times and the word 'friendship' twenty-four times. Liz Norton's name was spoken fifty times, nine of them in vain. The word 'Paris' was said seven times, 'Madrid', eight. The word 'love' was spoken twice, once by each man. The word 'horror' was spoken six times and the word 'happiness' once (by Espinoza). The word 'solution' was said twelve times. The word 'solipsism' once (Pelletier). The word 'euphemism' ten times. The word 'category', in the singular and plural, nine times. The word 'structuralism' once (Pelletier). The term 'American literature' three times. The word 'dinner' or 'eating' or 'breakfast' or 'sandwich' nineteen times. The word 'eyes' or 'hands' or 'hair' fourteen times. Then the conversation proceeded more smoothly. Pelletier told Espinoza a joke in German and Espinoza laughed. In fact, they both laughed, wrapped up in the waves of whatever it was that linked their voices and ears across the dark fields and the windows and the snow of the Pyrenees and the rivers and lonely roads and the separate and interminable suburbs surrounding Paris and Madrid.”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Roberto Bolaño" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roberto-bola-o/around-this-time-pelletier-and-espinoza-worried-about-the-current/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "American literature" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roberto-bola-o/around-this-time-pelletier-and-espinoza-worried-about-the-current/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ca3/roberto-bola-o-725_american-literature_around-this-time-pelletier-and-espinoza_915926.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ca3/roberto-bola-o-725_american-literature_around-this-time-pelletier-and-espinoza_915926.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ca3/roberto-bola-o-725_american-literature_around-this-time-pelletier-and-espinoza_915926.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Around this time, Pelletier and Espinoza, worried about the current state of their mutual lover, had two…” — Roberto Bolaño", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Roberto Bolaño", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roberto-bola-o/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "“Around this time, Pelletier and Espinoza,...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roberto-bola-o/around-this-time-pelletier-and-espinoza-worried-about-the-current/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roberto-bola-o/around-this-time-pelletier-and-espinoza-worried-about-the-current/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```