“When the red ants discovered that a new variety of canned goods had arrived, they mounted guard around the cassoulet. It wouldn’t have been advisable to leave a freshly opened can standing; they’d have summoned the whole nation of red ants to the shack. There are no bigger communists anywhere.”

—Louis-Ferdinand C’line, Journey To The End Of The Night, 1934, translated by Ralph Manheim, 1983.