Isaac Babel

A simile must be as precise as a slide rule and as natural as the smell of dill.

You’re trying to live without enemies. That’s all you think about, not having enemies.

A phrase is born into the world both good and bad at the same time. The secret lies in a slight, an almost invisible twist. The lever should rest in your hand, getting warm, and you can only turn it once, not twice.

No steel can pierce the human heart so chillingly as a period put just at the right place.