Word: quests
(lookup in dictionary)
(lookup stats)
Dates: during 1980-1989
Sort By: most recent first
(reverse)
Julian's presence at the usual Thanksgiving dinner of turkey that no one likes to eat in the first place is at least a relief from the resigned monotony of the traditional family gatherings. While the yuppie suitor is ingenuous in his quest to become a permanent guest at the "real" old-fashioned dinners he envies, Tyler has no pretensions about the claustrophobia bred by such intimacy. Beneath the respectable bourgeois values lies a barrenness that has decayed even the excitement of sex. Macon's instinctive response to the dogtrainer Muriel's aggressive passes is the urge to confess that...
Chamorro wrote that the CIA directed the rebel leaders' quest for Congressional funding, wrote their speeches and policy, and forced them to join with members of the former Nicaraguan dictator Gen. Anastasio Somoza's National Guard. The witnesses testified about reported contra atrocities and gave estimates of the damage to and legitimacy of the Nicaraguan government...
However, in a restless quest for the truth, I decided to approach a sociologist, which is an academic term meaning "no fun at parties"--but none of this species was available for comment, with attribution, for this column...
...restaurant's three year quest for a liquor license has been a sobering experience--confronting Cambridge's sticky web of city politics, favoritism, and vacillating policy...
...does not work, of course. But Calvino's narrative of this doomed quest succeeds admirably, in part because he, like Samuel Beckett, recognizes the comic possibilities inherent in the tailspin of logic toward the absurd. Mr. Palomar's relentless speculations render him buffoonish. Passing a woman sunbathing topless on a beach, he averts his eyes lest she cover herself and embarrass them both. On reflection, though, he decides that his behavior was incorrect, since it reinforced outmoded taboos against nudity. So he walks by again, this time taking in the bare breasts as an incidental feature in the general landscape...