…
Brought to you by Mallory Ortberg—and also my mom, who bought me her book last month:
Achilles
we were just wondering
when you might be thinking
of coming back to the war that we’re having
well A of all youre being condecending
what did I say?
it wasnt what you said it was HOW you said it
and B of all i quit war forever
so
that’s when i’m coming back
whenever i un-forever quit war, which is never, so never
what’s this about, buddy?
he took that girl i liked
who did
that guy
I can’t say his name
the guy with the long name and the sun helmet
Agamemnon?
yeah that guy
he took that girl I like
which girl?
I DONT REMEMBER
GOD
what is this
name remembering day
the one who was always holding the wine
or like the orb or whatever
she was always carrying something
okay
okay
would it help if we got her back?
no
it would not help
and youre being condescending again
and im going home
what will you do if you go home?
i dunno
stuff grows out of the ground if you put stuff in it
so maybe ill do that
farming?
yeah
go home and put stuff in the ground and no one will take the girls i like
and i hope you all die in this stupid war
you don’t mean that
you don’t mean your face
what?
leave me alone
…
Wuthering Heights
god i love you cathy
i love you too
i love you so much
god
it hurts how much i love you
i love you so much
let’s break each other’s hearts
oh my god let’s
i love you so much i’m going to marry edgar
i love you so much i’m going to run away
i love you so much i’m going to make myself sick
good
good that’s so much love
i love you so much i’m going to get sick again
just out of spite
i’ll forget how to breathe
i’ll be your slave
i’ll pinch your heart and hand it back to you dead
i’ll lie down with my soul already in its grave
i’ll damn myself with your tears
i love you so much i’ll come back and marry your sister-in-law
god yes
and i’ll bankroll your brother’s alcoholism
i always hoped you would
[…]
i love you SO MUCH
i’m going to write your name all over my books and then
i’m going to have someone else’s baby and then DIE
yes
cathy yes that’s perfect
i’m going to kidnap your daughter someday
and i won’t let your nephew learn how to read
because of how much i love you
and scream at your grave
and i’ll rent your room out
to some guy from London
oh my god thank you
…
Just in case you haven’t had your fill of snark, check out my own reviews of The Iliad and Wuthering Heights.
Happy reading!
The 100 Greatest Books Challenge 