Another Book Meme

So, here is another book-related meme I spotted on mamacita’s blog. Quick rules:

1. Pick up the nearest book (of at least 123 pages).
2. Open the book to page 123.
3. Find the fifth sentence.
4. Post the next three sentences.

Not too exciting in my case, but away we go:

The book is Oblomov by Ivan Goncharov, which I was inspired to start reading thanks to the last post. I bought Oblomov a year ago and never started it. So, it does have more than 123 pages. Here are the three sentences following the on page 123:

“The fascination of the Oblomovka atmoshphere, way of life, and habits extended to Verkyhlovo, which had also once belonged to the Oblomovs; except for Stolz’s house, everything there was imbued with the same primitive laziness, simplicity of customs, peace, and inertia. The child’s heart and mind had been filled with the scenes, pictures, and habits of that life long before he set his eyes on his first book. And who can tell when the development of a child’s intellect begins?”

Leave it to Russian Literature to take the fun out of a good meme.