What about his plans to go to the Persian Gulf or Malaysia, where the wages were rumored to be better, once he turned 18? "Marriage at 18 or 19 would have been better for me," he said.
He lived on the run for a while, and then, having heard that fugitives who surrendered got better treatment, he turned himself in.
I am certain the eternal wisdom of the Imam will lead him to a better life". He turned once again to the visitor and smiled serenely.
Richards did not fare much better when he turned out for Antigua in a couple of World Cup qualifying matches in 1974.
Elliott might have done better when he turned to meet the loose ball from close range, but his determination was evident as he forced home the rebound.
Perhaps it had been part of Henry VIII's Bridewell palace that Edward VI made better known when he turned it into a penitentiary for vagabonds and whores.
When coaches were making their preseason predictions, John MacLeod, the Mavericks' coach at the time, was so sure that his team, which missed the playoffs last season, was headed for "much better days" that he turned down a chance to move to New York and replace Rick Pitino as the Knick coach.
Parini is better when he turns to the later years.
In another, even better starter, he turns to China for the lop cheung sausage that he uses, along with littleneck clams, to stuff ravioli (made of won-ton skins).
But as Mr. Coover takes us through the scenes of his utopian-dystopian world, he holds storytelling itself up to the light for a better view; he turns it upside down and gives it a vigorous shake to see what combinations of the old and new might fall out.
