Quotes from A Long, Long Time Ago and Essentially True

“The stupid things you do in life are the most beautiful.”
― Brigid Pasulka, quote from A Long, Long Time Ago and Essentially True

“[The Pigeon had learned something about [women] from his eight sisters, and if over the years he had absorbed only this one thing, it would stand as vindication that a boy does not suffer needlessly from growing up in a house with eight sisters. That thing was that a woman's heart is not bought by the currency of a man's emotion for her. A woman's heart is won over by her own feelings for herself when he just happens to be around ...”
― Brigid Pasulka, quote from A Long, Long Time Ago and Essentially True

“If everyone knows so much about it, why do they need to make a documentary?”
― Brigid Pasulka, quote from A Long, Long Time Ago and Essentially True

“I press my back against the wall and feel the pressure of it against my whole body. I want to feel enclosed again, protected, safe as I was in the village. I wrap the blanket tightly around me, and I try to comfort myself by thinking about Tadeusz, but the loneliness that has opened up inside me is bigger than one person can fill.”
― Brigid Pasulka, quote from A Long, Long Time Ago and Essentially True

“It was just after the war. There was nothing left in Warsaw for me. He and his brother were coming to Krakow to make a fresh start. And he loved me so. He would have done anything for me.”
― Brigid Pasulka, quote from A Long, Long Time Ago and Essentially True

“I keep repeating the conversation with Taduesz in mind, reaching out to touch it to make sure it doesn't disappear.”
― Brigid Pasulka, quote from A Long, Long Time Ago and Essentially True

“Golden hands. It is said that all Poles have them, and that this is how you know your place in life, by the ease of your hands, that whether you are born to make cakes or butcher animals, cuddle children or paint pictures, drive nails or play jazz, your hands know it before you do. Long before birth, the movements are choreographed into the tendons as they're formed.”
― Brigid Pasulka, quote from A Long, Long Time Ago and Essentially True

“Over the weeks I am surprised to find that the more stories I record and the longer I carry them around, the lighter they become. I find out that the difference between knowing something and being able to talk about it is that there we many hands now, and we all share the burden”
― Brigid Pasulka, quote from A Long, Long Time Ago and Essentially True

“Normally I give permission to take my daughter for a walk after only the building of a wall and a stone pathway.' He smiled. 'For future reference.'

'But, Pan, I knew after the first week that a walk was not the only thing I would request,' the Pigeon said, smiling, 'and winter will be here soon.”
― Brigid Pasulka, quote from A Long, Long Time Ago and Essentially True

“That was before I found out that capitalists are just communists without the polyester.”
― Brigid Pasulka, quote from A Long, Long Time Ago and Essentially True

“When someone is telling you what to do all the time, anything you do of your own volition becomes a protest, doesn’t it?”
― Brigid Pasulka, quote from A Long, Long Time Ago and Essentially True

“But I thought you protested against the communists."
"Phooh. That was before I found our that capitalists are just communists without the polyester.”
― Brigid Pasulka, quote from A Long, Long Time Ago and Essentially True

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“Bump looked from one of them to the other.
“What we fuckin got here, you playin a fuckin show-an-tell? I ought should go get me something for holding up, an join the fuck in?”
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“One by one they were all becoming shades. Better pass boldly into that other world, in the full glory of some passion, than fade and wither dismally with age. He thought of how she who lay beside him had locked in her heart for so many years that image of her lover’s eyes when he had told her that he did not wish to live.”
― James Joyce, quote from The Dead

“Hearts are like stones on an ocean beach...And people are like the tides that leave permanent marks on them.”
― Loretta Ellsworth, quote from In a Heartbeat

“I never wanted to marry anyone before,” he said. “When two people marry, they surrender a small part of themselves. They become more like each other. I never met a woman who was better than me at things I take pride in, and I never wanted to be like them. I always knew that whoever I was with was temporary. There was always a new woman around the corner. I’ve seen marriages shatter. Twice. My mother left, then Richard’s wife. It almost broke my brother.”
“So how do I know that you won’t move on and leave me broken?”
“Because you are the one. You are better than me in some things, and I am better than you in others.” He drew her into his arms. “I don’t mind being a bit like you. I hope you don’t mind being a bit like me.”
― Ilona Andrews, quote from Fate's Edge

“siblings between the ages of three and seven clash 3.5 times per hour, on average. Some of those are brief clashes, others longer, but it adds up to ten minutes of every hour spent arguing.”
― Po Bronson, quote from NurtureShock: New Thinking About Children

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About BookQuoters

BookQuoters is a community of passionate readers who enjoy sharing the most meaningful, memorable and interesting quotes from great books. As the world communicates more and more via texts, memes and sound bytes, short but profound quotes from books have become more relevant and important. For some of us a quote becomes a mantra, a goal or a philosophy by which we live. For all of us, quotes are a great way to remember a book and to carry with us the author’s best ideas.

We thoughtfully gather quotes from our favorite books, both classic and current, and choose the ones that are most thought-provoking. Each quote represents a book that is interesting, well written and has potential to enhance the reader’s life. We also accept submissions from our visitors and will select the quotes we feel are most appealing to the BookQuoters community.

Founded in 2023, BookQuoters has quickly become a large and vibrant community of people who share an affinity for books. Books are seen by some as a throwback to a previous world; conversely, gleaning the main ideas of a book via a quote or a quick summary is typical of the Information Age but is a habit disdained by some diehard readers. We feel that we have the best of both worlds at BookQuoters; we read books cover-to-cover but offer you some of the highlights. We hope you’ll join us.