Quotes by Christopher Lehmann-Haupt

“There is no medical proof that television causes brain damage - at least from over five feet away. In fact, TV is probably the least physically harmful of all the narcotics known to man.”

“We breathe, we think, we conceive of our lives as narratives.”

“One is happy to report that Israel Shenker is still at the aerosol stage. His energy is still compressed. The result distinguishes him both as a Jew and as an observer of Jews.”

“The beginning of a plot is the prompting of desire.”

“Theres an enormous difference between being a critic and a reviewer. The reviewer reacts to the experience of that book.”

“What they have in common is that if the reviewer did not already possess them, he would long for them most greedily.”

“Rice Krispies happens to be one of my favorite junk foods, just as I regard Michener as superior among junk writers.”

“One misses the hiss of acid.”

Even if language is a living evolving organism we dont have to embrace all the changes that occur during our lifetimes. If language is so alive it can get sick.