Death by Water

we’ll be indebted to her forever

That was when it finally dawned on me that this was not some fortuitous chance encounter at all.

So why didn’t I go ahead and start to draft the book? Because I realized clearly that I didn’t possess the literary finesse to pull it off. But even while I was floundering around, not at all certain that I would be able to survive as a young novelist, I remained essentially optimistic. Someday, I vowed, I will write the drowning novel

In a sense, then, my mother’s offhanded quip ended up steering me toward my destiny.

In a sense, then, my mother’s offhanded quip ended up steering me toward my destiny.

uncle said to me, “you managed to get into that university. Great news, but what’s your major?”
When I replied that I was studying literature, he made no attempt to hide his disappointment.
“In that case,” he said glumly, “you probably can’t expect to find a decent job after you leave school, can you?”
Then my mother, who was usually rather reserved in social situations, came out with a totally unexpected suggestion. Her words threw me into a state of confusion, for until then I had aspired to nothing more ambitious than becoming a French literature scholar.