Quotes from And the Hippos Were Boiled in Their Tanks

“I began to get a feeling (...) of being the only sane man in a nut house. It doesn't make you feel superior but depressed and scared, because there is nobody you can contact.”
― William S. Burroughs, quote from And the Hippos Were Boiled in Their Tanks

“All over America, people were pulling credentials out of their pockets and sticking them under someone else's nose to prove they had been somewhere or done something. And I thought someday everyone in America will suddenly jump up and say, 'I don't take any shit!' and start pushing and cursing and clawing at the man next to him.”
― William S. Burroughs, quote from And the Hippos Were Boiled in Their Tanks

“Yeah," I said, "but you're an artist. You don't believe in decency and honesty and gratitude. Where shall we eat?”
― William S. Burroughs, quote from And the Hippos Were Boiled in Their Tanks

“But you're an artist. You don't believe in decency and honesty and gratitude.”
― William S. Burroughs, quote from And the Hippos Were Boiled in Their Tanks

“I had the feeling that all over America such stupid arguments were taking place on street corners and in bars and restaurants. All over America, people were pulling credentials out of their pockets and sticking them under someone else's nose to prove they had been somewhere or done something. And I thought someday everyone in America will suddenly jump up and say "I don't take any shit!" and start pushing and cursing and clawing at the man next to him.”
― William S. Burroughs, quote from And the Hippos Were Boiled in Their Tanks

“...both of us had a lot to say, but there was no room to say it in, we were so tense and close.”
― William S. Burroughs, quote from And the Hippos Were Boiled in Their Tanks

“I began to get a feeling familiar to me from my bartending days of being the only sane man in a nuthouse. It doesn't make you feel superior but depressed and scared, because there is nobody you can contact.”
― William S. Burroughs, quote from And the Hippos Were Boiled in Their Tanks

“As I was walking past Tony Pastor's I saw Pat, the lesbian bouncer, throw a drunken young sailor out into the street. The sailor said, "That place is full of fucking queers." He swung at the air and nearly fell on his face, then he staggered away, muttering to himself.”
― William S. Burroughs, quote from And the Hippos Were Boiled in Their Tanks

“He had a third martini. He looked at me intently and took hold of my arm. 'Look', he said. 'You're a fish in a pond. It's drying up. You have to mutate into an amphibian, but someone keeps hanging on to you and telling you to stay in the pond, everything's going to be all right.”
― William S. Burroughs, quote from And the Hippos Were Boiled in Their Tanks

“–Levántate y date una ducha, cabrón.
–¿Qué pasa?
–A mí no me vengas con qué pasa. Anoche fumaste marihuana.
–Pero no era nada buena, de todos modos –dije, y me fui al baño.”
― William S. Burroughs, quote from And the Hippos Were Boiled in Their Tanks

“There was something virile in her attitude toward tragedy, as though she were defying God to knock off the chip He Himself had placed on her shoulder.”
― William S. Burroughs, quote from And the Hippos Were Boiled in Their Tanks

“People in bars are always claiming to be boxers, hoping thereby to ward off attack, like a black snake will vibrate its tail in leaves and try to impersonate a rattlesnake.”
― William S. Burroughs, quote from And the Hippos Were Boiled in Their Tanks

“I got up the next morning with morphine hangover. I poured myself a large glass of cold milk, which is an antidote for morphine.”
― William S. Burroughs, quote from And the Hippos Were Boiled in Their Tanks

“A typical modern Puritan, she was able to believe in sin without believing in God. In fact, she felt there was something soft and sinful about believing in God. She rejected such indulgence like an indecent proposal.

- William S. Burroughs, And the Hippos Were Boiled in Their Tanks”
― William S. Burroughs, quote from And the Hippos Were Boiled in Their Tanks

About the author

Popular quotes

“The appeal of many conspiracy theories depends on the misunderstanding of this logic. That is, it depends on confusing the probability that a series of events would happen if it were the product of a huge conspiracy with the probability that a huge conspiracy exists if a series of events occurs.”
― Leonard Mlodinow, quote from The Drunkard's Walk: How Randomness Rules Our Lives

“As I swallowed the last bite of my bagel, my fear gave way to anger. “And just what the hell did he mean by ‘my erratic behavior’?”
Ian just looked at me. Yasha and Calvin stared straight ahead and didn’t say a word.
I glared at all of them.”
― Lisa Shearin, quote from The Grendel Affair

“I may be a pawn, but I’ve been to the other side and survived the trip back and I can move like a queen. Don’t piss me off.”
― Kim Harrison, quote from The Witch With No Name

“Watt’s eyes were still glued to Avery as she moved through the crowded room, a bright golden beacon.”
― Katharine McGee, quote from The Thousandth Floor

“I saw my mother's face again, and felt, for the first time, how the stones of the road she had walked on must have bruised her feet. I saw the moonlit road where my father's brother died. And it brought something else back to me, and carried me past it, I saw my little girl again and felt Isabel's tears again, and I felt my own tears begin to rise. And I was yet aware that this was only a moment, that the world waited outside, as hungry as a tiger, and that trouble stretched above us, longer than the sky.”
― James Baldwin, quote from Going to Meet the Man

Interesting books

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.