Wu Ting
How would you interpret this sentence? “Do you happen to know his income?” “For goodness’ sake. He’s a writer. He couldn’t say himself what it’s going to be, month to month. Do you know what books people will buy next year?” How would you interpret this sentence: He couldn’t say himself what it’s going to be, month to month? Did the speaker mean ‘he’ couldn’t know how much he would earn next month? PS: The first speaker was from FBI. And the second one was a secretary of a writer. They were talking about the secretary’s boss, the writer. Thanks! And it’s from The Lacuna by Kingsolver.
Apr 2, 2015 2:07 AM
Answers · 2
1
His income is unpredictable because he doesn't know in advance how well his books will sell. People that have regular jobs know approximately how much they earn each month, but a writer's income is more variable.
April 2, 2015
He = the writer The writer doesn't even know what his income is every month.
April 2, 2015
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