“For the girls the regular comings and goings restored their superior sense of self, a superiority they had received intact from Moran and which was little acknowledged by the wide world in which they had to work and live. That unexplained notion of superiority was often badly shaken and in need of restoration by the time they came home.”
― John McGahern, quote from Amongst Women
“As looking down from great heights brings the urge to fall and end the terror of falling, so his very watching put pressure on them to make a slip as they dried and stacked the plates and cups.”
― John McGahern, quote from Amongst Women
“To leave the everpresent tension of Great Meadow was like shedding stiff, formal clothes or kicking off pinching shoes.”
― John McGahern, quote from Amongst Women
“Той продължи да седи сам, докато цялата му тревога се разтопи в разкоша на самовглъбението.”
― John McGahern, quote from Amongst Women
“Но отдалечавайки се бавно от гробището, групичката здраво сплотени опечалени жени сякаш започна бавно да набира сила с всяка стъпка. Сякаш първата им любов и вярност бяха отдадени безкомпромисно само и единствено на тази къща и този човек и те знаеха, че той винаги е бил живецът във всички етапи от съществуването им. Не само че никога не бяха нарушили верността си към него, но сега подновяваха клетвата си към него заедно с жената, която беше дошла сред тях и се беше омъжила за него. Непрекъснатото им връщане у дома беше потвърждение на несломимото присъствие на къщата в живота им и сега, след като го оставиха под тисовото дърво, сякаш всяка от тях по собствен начин се беше превъплътила в татко.”
― John McGahern, quote from Amongst Women
“Time should have stopped with the clocks but instead it moved in a glazed dream of tiredness without their ticking insistence.”
― John McGahern, quote from Amongst Women
John McGahern
Born place: in Dublin, Ireland
Born date November 12, 1934
See more on GoodReads
“You could pretend that Guenever was a sort of man-eating lioncelle herself, or that she was one of those selfish women who insist on ruling everywhere. In fact, this is what she did seem to be to a superficial inspection. She was beautiful, sanguine, hot-tempered, demanding, impulsive, acquisitive, charming - she had all the proper qualities for a man-eater. But the rock on which these easy explanations founder, is that she was not promiscuous. There was never anybody in her life except Lancelot and Arthur. She never ate anybody except these. And even these she did not eat in the full sense of the word. People who have been digested by a man-eating lioncelle tend to become nonentities - to live no life except within the vitals of the devourer. Yet both Arthur and Lancelot, the people whom she apparently devoured, lived full lives, and accomplished things of their own.
She lived in warlike times, when the lives of young people were as short as those of airmen in the twentieth century. In such times, the elderly moralists are content to relax their moral laws a little, in return for being defended. The condemned pilots, with their lust for life and love which is probably to be lost so soon, touch the hearts of young women, or possibly call up an answering bravado. Generosity, courage, honesty, pity, the faculty to look short life in the face - certainly comradeship and tenderness - these qualities may explain why Guenever took Lancelot as well as Arthur. It was courage more than anything else - the courage to take and give from the heart, while there was time. Poets are always urging women to have this kind of courage. She gathered her rose-buds while she might, and the striking thing was that she only gathered two of them, which she kept always, and that those two were the best.”
― T.H. White, quote from The Ill-Made Knight
“Why, hello, Death. Long time no see. As you can see, I just couldn't stay away. The creeping things called out to Me. Anyway, what brings you here?- God”
― quote from Death: A Life
“When it came to maintaining a reputation, facts were fleeting but you could ride a rumor for years.”
― Lisa Shearin, quote from Magic Lost, Trouble Found
“Bei diesem unbedachten Wort sah ich plötzlich den armen Lahmen vor mir, flehend und leidend, ihn, den wir nicht liebten, den wir loszuwerden trachteten und
der jetzt von uns verlassen und eingeschlossen einsam und traurig in der dämmernden Stube saß. Es fiel mir ein, daß es nun bald zu dunkeln beginnen müsse
und daß er nicht im stande sein würde, Licht zu machen oder dem Fenster näher
zu rücken. Also würde er das Buch weglegen und im Halbdunkel allein sitzen müssen, ohne Gespräch oder Zeitvertreib, indes wir hier Wein tranken, lachten und uns
vergnügten. Und es fiel mir ein, wie ich den Nachbarn in Assisi vom heiligen Franz
erzählt hatte und wie ich geflunkert hatte, er hätte mich gelehrt alle Menschen liebzuhaben. Wozu hatte ich das Leben des Heiligen studiert und seinen herrlichen
Gesang der Liebe auswendig gelernt und seine Spuren auf den umbrischen Hügeln
gesucht, wenn nun ein armer und hülfloser Mensch dalag und leiden mußte, während ich davon wußte und ihn trösten konnte?”
― Hermann Hesse, quote from Peter Camenzind
“He did look like an Italian of the worse type, though Vic didn't think he was, and it was an insult to the Italian race to assume that he was. He resembled no particular race, only an amalgamation of the worst elements of various Latin peoples. He looked as if he had spent all his life dodging blows that were probably aimed at him for good reason.”
― Patricia Highsmith, quote from Deep Water
Conversations with G...
The Charm School
Night Star
Her Fearful Symmetry
Hard Bitten
The Emperor of All M...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.
