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Veterans of a Foreign War
Elliott Woods
‘If they’re willing to do this for their country then I should be willing to make the same sacrifices.’
Mrs de Pelet
Evie Wyld
‘I see her with her hands cupped in front of her shouting ‘The “O”, ladies, The Vaginal O’ as we read Shakespeare.’
Maori War
Peter Walker
‘It would be hard to overstate the importance of genealogy in Maori society.’
A question of identity
Dubravka Ugrešić
‘One of the first things a child learns is the sentiment: My country is… And so begins the homeland briefing that lasts from the cradle to the grave.’
Notes from Italy
William Weaver
‘It was easy to meet people, especially if you were a wide-eyed American and spoke Italian. The literary world was particularly accessible, for all the intellectuals wanted to know about the States.’
In the Shadow of the Hospital
Tim Winton
‘All that yearning spilling down amid the treetops and roof ridges, a shadow I’d never properly considered before.’
The Coral Reef
Tran Vu
'"So, our last night of socialism," Dzung said as he squatted down beside me. I pulled two cigarettes out of my pocket and handed one to him, but didn't reply.'
The Romanovs Come to Stay
Frances Welch
‘When I was a child I seemed to live in a fog of inattention which cleared only when I was alone.’
L.A. Diary: Notes from a Mexikorean Country
Juan Pablo Villalobos
‘I was reassured to see that my hotel does not resemble the one in The Shining.’