To repeat Derrida’s terms, these essays always affirm that the “texture” of texts makes any assemblage of them a “basted” one, i.e., permits only the kind of fore-sewing that emphasizes the necessary spaces between even the finest stitching. In practical terms, I would suggest a “basted,” well-spaced reading of Writing and Difference. Instead of reading through the book as a unified, well-sewn volume, one could follow both its arguments and its design in a way that would make them more comprehensible by choosing any of the essays to start with, and by reading the major works it refers to. (