In the Country of Last Things

"These are the last things, she wrote. One by one they disappear and never come back. 1 can teil you of the ones I have seen. of the ones that are no more. but 1 doubt. there will be time. lt is all happening too fast now .... These are the last things. A hause is there one day, and the next day it is gone. A street you walked down yesterday is no langer there today .... When you live in the city, you learn to take nothing for granted. Close your eyes for a moment. turn around to look at something eise and the thing that was before you is suddenly gone. Nothing lasts, you see .... Once a thing is gone. that is the end of it. ... That is what the city does to you. lt turns your thoughts inside out. lt makes you want to live and at the same time it tries to take your life away from you. There is no escape from this. Either you do or you don't. And if you do. you can't be sure of doing it the next time. And if you don't, you never will again." Paul Auster: In the Country of Last Things