Nerd... I love this sentance.

The Funny-Man Who Repented, by Monteiro Lobato

"A merchant to whom he owed some money said to him one day amidst sputters of laughter, "You at least are amusing, not like Major Sourpuss, who lets his bills go unpaid with a frown." This left-handed compliment vexed our joker, more or less; but his debt amounted to fifteen milreis, and it seemed better to swallow the taunt. However, the memory of that prick stuck in his mind like a pin in the cushion of his self-respect."

I won't go in to an exhaustive analysis on this excerpt; you can make of it and relate to it as you will. I know can certainly relate to that statement and that is probably why I like it so much. It comes from a short story that I found in A World of Great Stories, a book I got at the library, that has 155 short stories from around the world (much as the name implies). This one represents the literature of Brazil. That last sentence is the type that any author would hope to write, I would think. I am in love with that sentence, because it is so telling and it sums up every nuance in one short play on words.