2007/08/31 New York
Short
Ambitious
In last’s week New Yorker Adam Gopnik wrote about Mr. Sarkozy. I quote: “Gossip swirls around Paris about Sarkozy’s relationship with his own wife, the darkly beautiful Cécilia, as it did in Washington about the Clintons, but it tends to come down to a fairly coherent story, which is that both have had romantic attachments outside their marriage but have come back together now not from convenience but out of real passion—he adores her the way short, ambitious men adore beautiful women who are taller than they are but tolerate their advances.”
My question is how do short, ambitious men adore beautiful women who are taller than they are but tolerate their advances?
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22 comments 
Examples everywhere. I like this kind of love. It looks offbeat, but they seem to last. (Exempli non gratia)
They yell: "Mooohmmyyyy."
Tatasi
Do you mean i stated you don't have qualities as a writer? I hope that in a couple of years we can be peacefull again or you can insult me as a writer. But i am not done with the book yet.By the way: you should do something for TV again. I love being read to. Listening to you gives me the same feeling.
And o, i have heard something about looking-after-plants-service. You should check it out. It exists in NYC.
He adores her ...
An excellent example of a sentence that fails to deliver.How they adore them? The way everyone does. Adoration is the same everywhere. But that is not what I think you wanted as an answer.
Is it because Amante is taller than you that you ask that question?
Mieke
I have a weak spot for dwarfs.Oscar W
Are you suggesting that this is Mr. Gopnik’s trademark?You are right, Anna. They unconsciously scream for their mothers.
Mendie
There is not just one kind of adoration.Arnon
I know there are different types (adoration of mothers, the adoration for artists) but isn't the essence the same?coetzee
Two books for the price of one!Promotion! In a bookstore near Kortrijk (Belgium)
'Dagboek van een slecht jaar' + 'Hij en zijn man' = 22,95 euro.
Remarkable, isn't it?
Happy to find clean sheets in my mailbox. Thank you.
Those men offer presents and attention, you know very well, Arnon, as I am a dwarf, thank you very much sincerely.
@Anna,
Yelling Moomy, doesn’t not work, does it?
@Anna,
Yelling Moomy, doesn’t not work, does it?
your question tempts me to visualize, you cruel man.
An attempt at answer, i honestly don't know if this makes any sense at all:
short men who adore beautiful, taller women are -per definition- ambitious... as they are reaching for the top. If succesful, they will -mostly- adore in the way of recognition for accomplishment (considering themselves 'lucky' i suppose... subconsciously, of course). This will normally result in more ambition (on a professional level): the aim of taking advance in order to let it be tolerated (to - once again subconsciously - return the favor, so to speak).
If unsuccesful, it tends to be the adoration of something unreachable. Goddesslike, you know.
Come to think of it, this theory probably applies not only to short ambitious men, but all men.
Or is that just me?
short men who adore beautiful, taller women are -per definition- ambitious... as they are reaching for the top. If succesful, they will -mostly- adore in the way of recognition for accomplishment (considering themselves 'lucky' i suppose... subconsciously, of course). This will normally result in more ambition (on a professional level): the aim of taking advance in order to let it be tolerated (to - once again subconsciously - return the favor, so to speak).
If unsuccesful, it tends to be the adoration of something unreachable. Goddesslike, you know.
Come to think of it, this theory probably applies not only to short ambitious men, but all men.
Or is that just me?
When comments came, the short man evolved into a dwarf. (for me) I can't help it.
Arnon
I generally appreciate Mr Gopnik's prose. Have you read his sister's book "The scientist in the crib?"Oscar W
I’m tot sure if the Mr. Gopnik is the best staff writer The New Yorker has. I don’t know his sister nor do I know her work.Should I read his sister’s work?
Does Laura have any sisters?
Arnon
Mr Gopnik's unfortunately long sentences deserve our compassion.His sister's book, co-written by her husband and a fellow scientist, is informative yet troubled by uneventful and uneven prose.
Laura has no sisters and one brother.
Oscar W
You are a compassionate person. Why exactly should I read Mr. Gopnik’s sister’s book?Arnon
I would recommend Mr Gopnik's sister's book only if you are interested in uneventful and uneven prose.[ Add comment ]
