Eamonn Fitzgerald's Rainy Day

When a writer does well, the rest of the country is doing fine. -- John Steinbeck, "A Primer on the 30's," 1960

And! -- John Sack, "M," 1966

He turns the empty glass in his hand, and considers biting off the rim. -- Raymond Carver, "What Is It?" 1972

The above are taken at random from "Esquire's 70 Greatest Sentences". One could pick a different trio, of course, but these are ideal because of their logic, bravado and honesty. Steinbeck is topical, given the state of our world, but what makes his sentence stand out is the logic. Writers live precariously at the best of time and very few societies can afford them so if scribblers are able to buy food and clothes, the rest must be living high on the hog, indeed.

Forty years ago, John Sack had the courage to challenge purist and pedant by using "And!" as a sentence. Horror! A hard core of editors and proofreaders remain in the trenches resisting any expanded role for "and", insisting that it was and will always be a co-ordinating conjunction. But they are fighting a losing battle.

Finally, the terrifying imagery evoked by Raymond Carver says all we ever need to know about the fine line between what's considered sanity and what's regarded as madness. Pain lurks beneath the surface and only superhuman efforts on the part of many at office parties prevent them from screaming aloud in rage or biting the rims of glasses in anguish. Carver was brutally honest about the human condition and his sparse language is unrivalled.